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PEABODY  MUSEUM 


OF 

AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETH NOLOG 1 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


PAPERS 

VOLUME  I. 


Cambridge,  Mass. 
Published  by  the  Museum, 
1888-1904, 


Copyright,  1888-1904, 

By-  Peabody  Museum  of  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology, 
Harvard  University. 


Salem  press: 

The  Salem  Press  Co.,  Salem,  Mass. 


1904. 


CONTENTS 


Note.  —  The  paging  of  the  volume,  except  in  the  first  number,  is  at 
bottom  of  page. 


1.  Standard  or  Headdress.  By  Zelia  Nuttall.  1888. 

Prefatory  Notice  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  3 

Standard  or  Headdress .  5 

Appendix:  Complementary  Signs  of  the  Mexican  Graphic 

System .  49 

2.  The  Karankawa  Indians.  By  Albert  S.  Gatschet.  1891. 

Prefatory  Notice  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  69 

Biographical  Notice  of  Mrs.  Oliver. by  C.  A.  Hammond  ...  71 

The  Caraneah.ua  Tribe  of  Indians  by  C.  A.  Hammond  ....  73 

Notes  on  the  Carancahua  Indians  by  Alice  W.  Oliver  ....  79 

The  Karankawa  Indians .  85 

The  Karankawa  people  from  time  of  discovery  to  1835  .  .  87 

Other  Tribes  of  the  Texan  Littoral .  97 

Tribal  Synonymy  of  the  Karankawas .  107 

The  Karankawa  Nation  after  1835;  its  decline  and  extinction  109 
Ethnographic  Sketch  of  the  Karankawa  Indians  ...  116 

The  Karankawa  Language .  137 

Karankawa — English .  137 

English — Karankawa .  147 

Grammatic  Elements  of  the  Language .  151 

Affinities  of  the  Language .  159 

Bibliographic  Annotations .  163 

Index .  165 

3.  The  Atlatl  or  Spear-thrower  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans. 

By  Zelia  Nuttall.  1891. 

Editorial  Note  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  171 

The  Atlatl  or  Spear-thrower .  173 

4.  Report  upon  Pile-structures  in  Naaman ’s  Creek,  near 

Claymont,  Delaware.  By  H.  T.  Cresson.  1892. 

Editorial  Note  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  209 

Pile-Structures  in  Naaman ’s  Creek .  211 

List  of  Specimens .  224 


CONTENTS 


5.  A  Study  of  Omaha  Indian  Music.  By  Alice  C.  Fletcher, 

aided  by  Francis  LaFlesciie.  With  a  Report  on  the 
Structural  Peculiarities  of  the  Music,  by  John  Com¬ 
fort  Fillmore.  1893. 

Dedication  to  Mrs.  Mary  Copley  Thaw .  233 

Editorial  Note  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  235 

A  Study  of  Omaha  Indian  Music .  237 

Report  on  the  Structural  Peculiarities  of  the  Music  .  289 

Omaha  Songs,  words  and  music .  309 

Appendix .  382 

6.  Prehistoric  Burial  Places  in  Maine.  By  C.  C.  Wil¬ 

loughby.  1898. 

Dedication  to  Clarence  Bloomfield  Moore .  385 

Editorial  Note  by  F.  W.  Putnam .  387 

Prehistoric  Burial  Places  in  Maine .  389 

Burial  Place  at  Ellsworth .  390 

Burial  Place  at  Bucksport .  401 

Burial  Place  at  Orland .  414 

Implements  found  in  the  graves .  427 

Eskimo,  Algonkin  or  Beothuks .  434 

7.  Penitential  Rite  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans.  By  Zelia 

Nuttall.  1904. 

Penitential  Rite  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans .  439 

Index  to  Volume .  463 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  C.  C.,  213. 

Abel,  Carl,  50. 

Aboriginal  fish-weirs,  209-230. 

Achcauhtli  or  high  priest,  Mexican,  441. 

Acosta,  21,  25. 

Acxoiatemaliztli,  Mexican  ceremony,  443. 

Agave  paper,  27,  28. 

Agave  leaf  points,  443,  et  seq. 

Ahuitzotl,  37,  446,  451. 

Aleutian  throwing-stick,  173. 

Alluvial  deposits,  Naaman’s  creek,  213- 

222. 

Ambras  Castle,  38. 

Ambras  collection,  5-9,  45-47. 

Amiento,  179. 

Animal  myths,  Omaha,  281. 

Anthropophagy,  79,  90-97. 

Antonio,  Chief,  130. 

Apanecatl,  15,  31,  32,  51. 

Armor,  Ambras  collection,  9,  36,  45;  in 
Brussel’s  collection,  42,  43. 

Arricivita,  100. 

Arrowheads,  Naaman’s  creek,  211. 

Arrows,  ceremonial,  446. 

Arrows,  in  Mexican  picture-writing,  14, 
17,  18;  Mexican,  lord  of,  17. 

Atlacuihuayan,  175,  176  {note). 

Atlatl  or  spear-thrower  of  the  ancient 
Mexicans,  171-204;  Mexican  and  Aleu¬ 
tian,  173;  insignia  of  rank  and  religious 
emblem,  175;  in  myths,  175,  176;  in 
chronicles,  177-180;  in  codices,  181-183; 
187-188;  existing  specimens,  183-185; 
on  sculptures,  185-187 ;  ceremonial 
forms,  188-199;  its  extinction,  198; 
three  plates. 

Aubin  MS.,  456. 

Audubon,  J.  J.,  40. 

Austin,  B.  W.,  113  {note). 

Austin,  Stephen,  94,  95. 

Avalos,  General,  114. 

Axayacatl,  36. 

Aztec  migration,  four  leaders  of,  15. 

Baby  board,  Texan  Indian,  122. 

Baker,  D.  W.  C.,  95,  113. 

Ballesta,  174. 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  87,  90,  93,  102,  104, 
105,  120  {notes),  174. 


Bandelier,  A.  F.,  11,  17,  32,  38  {notes),  173. 
Bangor,  Maine,  387. 

Barcia,  87,  89,  98  {notes),  99,  108. 

Baskets,  Texan  Indian,  88. 

Bastian,  Ad.,  32  {note). 

Beads  of  native  copper,  Maine,  396,  397 
Belle-Isle,  Simars  de,  90. 

Bells  in  Omaha  Music,  280,  300. 

Belvedere  Museum,  5. 

Beothuks,  388,  432-436. 

Beranger,  90. 

Berghaus,  113. 

Berlin  Ethnographical  Museum,  453. 
Berlin  Gesellsch.  Erdk.,  126. 

Berra,  Orozco  y,  15  {note),  17  {note),  20 
{note),  49,  51,  93, 103,  174,  178,  185,  195. 
Biblioteca  Nazionale,  194. 

Bilimek  collection  of  Mexican  Antiquities, 
10,  22,  31,  32. 

Birch  bark  in  graves,  Maine,  396,  398, 
424;  Newfoundland,  436. 

Birch’s  Grammar,  50. 

Birds,  Mexican,  28,  33,  38-41. 

Blodgett,  George,  402. 

Blood  offerings,  Ancient  Mexican,  439- 
461;  Omaha,  272. 

Boas,  Franz,  432. 

Boats,  Texan  Indian,  74,  80,  124,  132. 
Bone  implements,  Naaman’s  creek,  223. 
Bone  instruments,  Mexican,  446,  447, 
453,  455,  458. 

Bone  needles,  Texan,  76. 

Bone  spear  tips,  Mexican,  177. 

Bone  whistle,  Omaha,  266,  284. 

Bones,  human  (see  Human  bones). 

Bonnel,  163. 

Bossu,  90  {note). 

Boturini,  15,  16,  31,  175. 

Bourbourg,  Brasseur  de,  178,  450. 

Bows  and  arrows,  Ancient  Mexican,  175- 
177,  181,  et  seq.]  Texan  Indian,  76,  77, 
79,  95. 

Bracht,  V.,  163. 

Braekenridge,  100. 

Bread,  in  shape  of  constellation,  453. 
Bridges,  Thomas,  71,  73,  9.3,  112,  122, 
129-133. 

British  Asso.  Adv.  Science,  120  {note). 
British  Museum,  184,  185,  450. 

(463) 


464 


INDEX, 


Brown,  J.  H.,  113. 

Bucholtz,  F.  B.  von,  44  (note). 

Bucksport,  Maine,  exploration  of  burial 
place,  387  ,  401-414. 

Buffalo  Hide,  sacred,  Omaha,  248-251. 

Bunsen,  50. 

Burgos,  Bishop  of,  191. 

Burial  customs,  Maine,  398,  401;  New¬ 
foundland,  436;  Omaha  Indian,  272; 
Texas,  83,  131. 

Burial-places  in  Maine,  385-436  (see  Ells¬ 
worth,  Bucksport,  Orland);  list  and  de¬ 
scription  of  objects  found,  427-434; 
Eskimo,  Algonquin  or  Beothuks,  434- 
436. 

Buschmann,  J.  C.  E.,  97,  100,  113,  146. 

Bustamante,  Islas  de,  458,  459. 

Cacatapayolli,  ball  of  woven  grass,  444, 
et  seg. 

California,  University  of,  449. 

California  Indians,  431. 

Calmecac,  444,  447. 

Calmecahua,  17,  18. 

Calumets, Omaha  (see  Pipes  of  Fellowship). 

Camasale  (Camaxtli),  449. 

Cannibalism  (see  Anthropophagy). 

Canoes  (see  Boats). 

Carancahua  Indians(same  as  Karankawa). 

Carochi,  Padre,  16  (note). 

Carreri,  Gemelli,  40. 

Cartier,  435. 

Carving  on  Atlatl,  184. 

Cavelier,  Abbd,  99  (note). 

Ceremonies,  Omaha,  238,  248,  et  seq.\ 
Texan  Indian,  82,  88,  134,  13.5. 

Chaleo,  446. 

Champollion,  50. 

Charles  V,  Commentaires,  42  (note),  185, 
190. 

Charm  stones,  431  (see  also  Pendants). 

Charlevoix,  99  (note),  163. 

Charnay,  D£sir£,  185,  186. 

Chavero,  Alfredo,  8,  174,  192,  193,  194. 

Chiapas,  41. 

Chichen  Itza,  185,  457. 

Children,  Ancient  Mexican,  in  ceremonial’ 
447,  448;  Omaha,  games  and  songs, 
264,  274,  in  ceremonial,  268-271. 

Chimalma,  15. 

Chriesman,  Captain,  95. 

Christiana  creek,  214,  215. 

Clavigero,  11,  16,  18  (note),  23,  33,  40,  178 

Claymont,  Delaware,  209-230. 

Codices,  Aubin,  174,  194,  197;  Borgian, 
192;  Dresden,  188;  Fuenleal,  449;  Ram¬ 
irez,  192,  196,  444;  Telleriano  Remen- 
sis,  174,  182,  449;  Troano,  187,  450; 
Vatican,  11,  19,  21,  174,  180,  182,  186, 
192;  Vienna,  184. 


Color,  in  picture-writing,  36-38,  47 ;  on 
atlatl,  183,  188,  189. 

Communal  graves,  or  fire  holes,  Maine, 
394,  395. 

Complementary  signs,  in  Mexican  picture- 
writing  and  in  Egyptian  hieroglyphs 
49-52. 

Conch-shells,  440. 

Conchshell  trumpet,  447. 

Cook,  G.  S.,  390. 

Coombs,  J.  W.,  390. 

Copal  gum,  447,  449. 

Copper  beads,  Maine,  396,  397. 

Corn,  creation  and  growth  of,  250. 

Cortes,  9,  12,  22,  23,  34,  35,  41,  42,  44-46, 
174,  185,  189-192. 

Cortes,  Father  Hunt,  460. 

Cortina,  Juan,  115. 

Counting,  method  of,  Texan,  132. 
Courtship,  Omaha,  244,  245,  274,  283. 
Coxe,  Daniel,  99. 

Creation  Myths,  449,  450. 

Cresson,  H.  T.,  Pile-structures  in  Naa- 
man’s  Creek,  209—230. 

Crosiers,  bishop’s,  190-193. 

Cross-bow,  174,  177. 

Cuauhcoatl,  15. 

Cuernavaca,  456. 

Damariscotta,  burial  place,  389;  shell 
heaps,  434. 

Dances,  Ancient  Mexican,  20,  21,  24,  441; 
Omaha  Indian,  250,  257,  264,  270,  299, 
300;  Texan  Indian,  82,  130,  134. 

Deer  sacrifice,  447. 

Delaware  Valley,  early  man  in,  211. 
Delisles  Map,  89,  108. 

Determinative  signs,  Mexican  and  Egyp¬ 
tian,  49-52. 

Devil,  ceremony  in  honor  of,  448. 

Dewees,  W.  B.,  94. 

Diaz,  Bernal,  11,  2.5,  34,  35,  39,  42,  174, 
177,  179. 

Diaz,  Captain,  454. 

Dogs,  Texan  Indian,  88,  107,  108,  124, 
161,  162. 

Douay,  Father  A.,  89,  98,  99  (note). 
Dresden  Royal  Library,  187. 

Dress  and  Ornament,  Texan,  81,  88,  97, 

125. 

Dress  of  Montezuma,  36—40,  46. 

Dress  of  Ocelot  skin,  12;  of  human  skin, 

19,  20. 

Drum,  Omaha,  276,  284,  285;  Mexican, 
441. 

Duran,  Padre,  10,  12,  17  (note),  18  (note) 

20,  21  (note),  33,  35-37,  176,  177,  179 
193,  195-197,  440,  444-446,  449. 

Dwellings,  Texan  Indian,  74,  75,  80,  81, 

126,  127. 


INDEX. 


465 


Eagle,  266-269,  271. 

Eagle  bone,  as  lancet,  446. 

Eagles,  Stone  of,  446. 

Ear,  ceremonial  piercing  of,  439-461. 

Ear  ornament  of  gold,  Mexican,  33,  34. 

Ear-rings  and  labrets,  448. 

Editorial  notes,  3,  69,  171,  209,  v  (pre¬ 
ceding  page  237),  387. 

Ellsworth,  Maine,  exploration  of  burial- 
place,  390-401. 

Ernst,  A.,  131. 

Eskimo,  432,  436. 

Estany,  113. 

Ethics,  Indian,  268. 

Etzalqualiztli,  Mexican  festival,  444. 

Exploration,  method  of,  387,  390,  391. 

Facial  painting  (see  painting). 

Fans,  Mexican,  22-25,  46. 

Fasting,  Ancient  Mexican,  441 ;  Omaha, 
273,  279. 

Feather-work,  Mexican,  1-52;  on  Atlatl, 
183,  196;  on  spearpoints,  190. 

Ferdinand  of  Tyrol,  6,  8,  9. 

Festivals,  Ancient  Mexican,  20,  21,  36, 
440,  441,  444,  446,  et  seq. ;  Omaha, 
Thanksgiving,  249;  Texan  Indian,  82, 
134. 

Fillmore,  J.  C.,  vi  (preceding  page  237), 
237 ;  Report  on  the  structural  Peculiari¬ 
ties  of  Omaha  Music,  289-307,  382. 

Fire  holes,  Maine,  394,  395. 

Fire,  homage  to,  443,  446;  symbols  of, 
452;  god  of,  458. 

Fire-making,  Maine,  393-436;  Texas,  74, 
75. 

Fire  signalling  (smoke),  83, 134. 

Fire  sticks,  74,  188. 

Fire  stones,  431-433. 

Fires  lighted  over  graves,  Maine,  398,  414. 

Fishing,  Ancient  Mexico,  175-181,  et  seq. ; 
Delaware,  211,  222;  Texas,  76,  122. 

Fish-weirs,  aboriginal,  209-230. 

Fitzinger,  Dr.,  7. 

Flageolet,  Omaha,  274,  284,  285,  290, 
302-304. 

Fletcher,  Alice  C.,  v,  vi  (preceding  p.237) ; 
A  Study  of  Omaha  Indian  Music,  237- 
382;  439. 

Flint  knife,  447,  453. 

Flowers,  conventionalized,  452;  festival 
of,  453. 

Flutes,  Ancient  Mexican,  440;  Texan  In¬ 
dian,  83. 

Food  and  drink,  Texan  Indian,  75,  76,  81, 
119,  122-124. 

Four  Quarters,  134,  256,  266. 

French,  B.  F.,  87,  {note)  88,  90,  {note),  99 
{note),  163. 


Frenchman’s  Bay,  389. 

Funeral  song  and  ceremony,  Omaha,  272. 

Gambling,  Omaha,  264. 

Games,  Omaha,  264;  Texan,  130. 

Garcia,  Padre  B.,  102,  115,  159. 

Gatschet,  A.  S.,  69,  72;  The  Karankawa 
Indians,  85-163. 

Geological  formation,  Naaman’s  Creek, 
213,  et  seq. 

Gesture  language,  Texan  Indian,  133. 
Gomara,  190. 

Gourd  rattles,  266,  268. 

Grasmeyer,  T.  W.,  101  {note). 

Grass  Balls,  444,  et  seq. 

Grimes,  Rufus,  103  {note). 

Grubb’s  Landing,  214. 

Gyle,  A.  B.,  111. 

Haines,  W.  M.,  390. 

Hamlin,  A.  C.,  387. 

Hammond,  Charles  A.,  69;  Biographical 
notice  of  Mrs.  Oliver, 7 1,72;  Carancahua 
Indians,  73-77. 

Harpoon  or  spear,  Mexican,  175,  179, 
et  seq. 

Haynes,  H.  W„  223. 

Head-dress  or  Standard  (see  Standard). 
Head  flattening,  122,  125,  126. 

Heger,  Franz,  26-28,  41,  43. 

Herrera,  177,  179. 

Hieroglyphs,  15,  49-52. 

Hieroglyph  of  Tezcatlipoca,  456,  459; 

of  locality,  456. 

Hirn,  Joseph,  8,  9,  45. 

Hochstetter,  Ferdinand  von,  5,  7,  8,  10, 
14,  18,  22,  23,  25-30,  32,  34,  40,  41,  43, 
46,  47. 

Hohenems,  Hannibal  von,  9,  46. 

Hough,  Walter,  432,  433  {note). 

Holley,  Mary  Austin,  95. 

Huastecans,  39. 

Huitzilopochtli,  33-41,  44,  47,  176,  184, 
188,  192,  445-447. 

Human  bones,  traces  of,  392,  394,  414; 

occipital,  396,  397. 

Human  figure  on  atlatl,  184. 

Human  heads  in  Mexican  picture-writing, 
18,  19. 

Human  sacrifice,  20,  447. 

Human  skin  as  dress,  19,  20. 

Humboldt,  Alexander  de,  14  {note),  187 
(note),  188. 

Hunter,  111,  112. 

Hunting,  Ancient  Mexican,  446;  Omaha 
248,  249,  281 ;  Texan  Indian,  80. 

Ikonomatic  writing  (see  Picture-writing). 
Ilg,  Dr.  5. 


466 


INDEX. 


Implements,  Delaware,  stone  and  bone, 
211-214  {note),  222-230;  stone,  Maine, 
389-436;  Texas,  123. 

Incense  burner,  446,  447,  451,  458. 
Incised  design  on  stone  implements,  396, 
407. 

Indian  axe  in  the  Ambras  collection,  9,  46. 
Indian  music  (see  Omaha  Indian  Music). 
Ish-e-buz-zhe,  263. 

Izcalli,  447. 

Jalapa,  bas-relief,  440. 

Javelin,  174. 

Jeffrey’s  Atlas,  105. 

Johnson,  Alfred,  389. 

Joliet,  99  {note). 

Jones,  Randall,  95. 

Josselyn,  John,  435. 

Joutel,  87-89,  99,  163. 

Ivarankawa  Indians,  Texas,  69-166  (for 
other  Texan  tribes,  etc.,  see  special  in¬ 
dex,  pp.  165-167). 

Kemper,  113. 

Kineo,  Mount,  405. 

Kingsborough ,  11,  12,  15,  18  {note),  19. 

20,  35,  181. 

Kriwitz,  E.,  112. 

Kuykendall,  Abner,  95. 

Labrets,  448. 

Lafitte,  94,  109. 

La  Flesche,  Francis,  vi  (preceding  p.  237), 
237,  289,  290,  295. 

La  Flesche,  Noah,  290. 

La  Harpe,  Benard  de,  90,  91,  101  {note). 
Landa,  Diego  de,  178,  182,  188,  450. 
Language,  Nahuatl  (words  in  text),  1-52 ; 
176-197 ;  Omaha  (words  of  songs),  309- 
381;  Texan  Indians,  137— 162. 

La  Salle,  R.  C.  de,  87-89,  98,  109  (note), 
119. 

Lapeyrouse,  121. 

Laurel,  443,  444. 

Laurentiana  MS.,  Sahagun,  194,  196. 

Las  Casas,  43. 

Lenapi  Indian,  220. 

Leon,  Alonso  de,  89,  114. 

Le  Page  der  Pratz,  90  (note). 

Le  Plongeon,  Augustus,  457. 

Lepsius,  50  (note). 

Lewis  and  Clark,  100  (note). 

Lightning,  symbol  of,  194,  195. 

Lyon,  432. 

Lip,  piercing  of,  448. 

Lloyd,  T.  G.  B.,  435,  436  (note). 

Lobdell,  George,  214,  215,  216  (note). 
Lodge,  George,  220. 

London,  Journal  Ethnol.  Soc.,  99  (note), 

119. 


Lorenzana,  12. 

Loyd,  Emer.,  214. 

MacCulloch,  113  (note). 

McCorkle,  Professor,  215. 

McGee,  W.  J.,  215  (note). 

Maillard,  N.  D.,  93  (note). 

Maine  Historical  Society,  389. 

Maine,  prehistoric  burial-places,  385-436. 
Maler,  T„  7. 

Map  of  the  Karankawa  region,  opposite 
p.  110. 

Marcus  Hook,  Pa.,  211,  219. 

Margry,  87-89,  90  (note),  91  (note),  101 
(note),  107,  163. 

Marquett,  99  (note). 

Mason,  O.  T.,  173. 

Matting  of  rushes  in  grave,  Maine,  424. 
Maudslay,  A.  P. ,  450. 

Maxixcatzin,  17. 

Medicine  men,  Texan  Indian,  133. 
Medicine,  Omaha,  273,  274,  280. 

Menelx'-,  bas-relief,  450. 

Mendieta,  177,440,441. 

Mendoza,  11,  12,  31,  36,  41,  46. 

Method  of  Research,  387,  390,  391. 
Mexican  Border  Commission,  Report  of, 
114. 

Mexican  Calendar,  39,  40,  51. 

Mexicans,  Ancient,  1-52;  171-204;  439- 
462. 

Mexico,  Geograph.  Soc.,  99  (note). 

Mexico,  Great  Temple  of,  459. 

Mexico,  National  Museum  of,  449  (note), 
451,  452,  454,  459,  461. 

Meyer,  A.  B.,  40. 

Migration  myth,  Mexican,  175,  176. 
Milfort,  90.  91, 

Miller,  George,  290. 

Mirror,  Smoking,  456. 

Mittendorfer,  M.  V.,  117. 

Mixcoatl,  449. 

Molina,  11  (note),  16,  179. 

Momacaeio,  Mexican  rite,  447. 

Montezuma,  6,  8,  9,  16,  17,  19,  20,  21,  25, 
34,35;  dress  of,  36-40;  gifts  to  Cortes, 
41-44,  189,  192;  inauguration  of,  445, 
446,  460  (note)',  personal  relics  of, 

45—47. 

Montezuma’s  palace,  39. 

Moore,  Clarence  B.,  385. 

Morelia  (Tepaztlan),  460. 

Morgan,  Lewis  H.,  38  (note). 

Morse,  98,  109. 

Mother  Earth,  Omaha,  287. 

Motolinia,  Fray,  21  (note),  440. 

Mt.  Desert  Ferry,  389. 

Muhlenpfordt,  93,  113. 


INDEX. 


467 


Munoz,  Juan  Batista,  23. 

Murray,  Alexander,  436. 

Murdock,  432  {note). 

Museo  Kircheriana,  183,  184. 

Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico,  449  (note) 
451,452,454,  459,  461. 

Museum,  Belvidere,  5. 

Museum,  British,  184,  185,  450. 

Museum  fur  Volkerkunde,  Berlin,  184, 
453. 

Museum,  Newfoundland,  436. 

Museum  of  Natural  History,  Vienna,  5, 
10,  14,  46. 

Museum,  Peabody,  Cambridge,  186. 
Museum,  U.  S.,  National,  186. 

Music  (see  Musical  instruments  and  Songs) 
Musical  instruments,  Ancient  Mexico,  440, 
441,  447;  Karankawa  Indians,  82; 
Omaha  Indians,  266,  268,  274,  276, 

280,  284,  285,  290,  302-304. 

Myers,  William,  214. 

Myths,  Ancient  Mexican,  34,  47,  175,  176, 
449,  450,  454;  Omaha  Indian,  252,  274, 

281. 

Naaman’s  Creek,  209-230. 

Nahuatl  names  in  Texas,  146. 

Nahuatl  words  (in  text),  1-52,  176—197. 
Nahui-Ollin,  440. 

Nanaoatzin,  450. 

Navarrete’s  collection  of  MSS.,  24. 
Nebraska,  289,  302. 

Nenacaztequiliztli,  festival,  442. 
Newfoundland  Indians,  388,  432-436. 
Newman,  Sarah  E.,  237. 

North,  symbol  of,  453. 

Numeral  20  in  Mexican  picture-writing, 12. 
Numerals,  Texan,  132,  155. 

Nuttall,  Zelia,  Standard  or  Head-dress,  1- 
52;  Atlatl  or  Spear  thrower,  171-198 ; 
Penitential  Rite  of  the  Ancient  Mexi¬ 
cans,  439-462. 

Oaxaca,  39. 

Obsidian  knives,  black,  441. 

Obsidian  lancets,  444,  445,  449,  451. 
Obsidian  spear  tips,  Mexican,  176,  179, 
190,  193. 

Obsidian  swords,  Mexican,  177. 

Ocelot  bone,  as  lancet,  446. 

Ocelot  skin,  as  dress,  12. 

Ocelot,  stone  statue  of,  454,  et  seg. 

Ochre,  red,  layers  of,  use  of,  389-436. 
Odin,  113. 

Oliver,  Alice  W.,  69-73,  108,  111,  112, 
117-124,  128,  132-134;  Karankawa 
Vocabulary,  137-140;  Notes  on  the 
Carancahua  Indians,  79-84. 


Olmos,  Padre,  195. 

Omaha  Indian  Music,  237-382:  Harmony, 
240,  291-296,  304-307;  pitch,  241, 
304;  rhythm,  242,  243,  255,  296- 
298;  “woman  songs,’’  244-247,  282; 
love  songs,  245,  283;  Sacred  Pole,  Buf¬ 
falo  hide  and  Tent  of  War,  and  secret 
societies,  248-264;  game,  myth  and 
children’s  songs,  264,  281;  Pipes  of 
Fellowship,  265—272;  individual  songs, 
272-274;  funeral  songs,  272 ;  medicine, 
273,  274,  280;  war  songs,  273,  274-278; 
mystery  songs,  279,  280,  287 ;  thanks, 
281 ;  trapping  and  hunting,  281 ;  musi¬ 
cal  instruments,  284,  285,  302;  scales, 
290,  304,  306,  307 ;  tonality,  293;  phras¬ 
ing,  298;  tone,  299;  flageolet,  302- 
304;  summary,  304;  words  and  music  of 
ninety-two  songs,  309-381;  Appendix, 
382. 

One-footed  god,  452,  455-462. 

Orland,  Maine,  exploration  of  burial- 
place;  414,426. 

Ortega,  Senor,  42  and  note. 

Ottey,  Charles,  213  (note). 

Painting,  on  pottery  and  on  wood,  Texan, 
123,  132. 

Painting  the  body,  Beothuks,  435. 

Painting  the  face  and  body,  Texan,  97, 
132. 

Painting  the  face,  body  and  scalp,  Omaha, 
256,  263,  270,  271. 

Painting  the  face  with  blood,  Ancient  Mex¬ 
ican,  442,  444,  445,  447. 

Painting  with  red  ochre,  433-435. 

Paint  pestle,  Maine,  406,  414,  416. 

Palaeolithic  implements,  Trenton,  213. 

Pamfilo  de  Narvaez,  87. 

Panquetzaliztli,  Mexican  festival,  447. 

Parnell,  Dr.,  94. 

Parrot’s  down,  448. 

Parry,  432,  433  (note). 

Paynal,  image  of,  191. 

Peat-beds,  Delaware,  214-223. 

Pelzeln,  Von,  38. 

Penafiel,  Antonio,  49. 

Pendants,  pear-shaped,  Maine,  393,  394, 
399-401,  407,  409-413,  418,  422,  425, 
430,  431. 

Penitential  Rite  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans, 
439-462. 

Penon  Viejo,  bas-relief,  456,  460. 

Physical  characters  of  Texan  Indians, 
120-122. 

Picture-writing,  Mexican,  14-52  175-204 
439-462. 

Pigorini,  Cav.,  184. 


470 


index. 


Winthrop,  Mass.  398  (note). 

Wolf,  as  patron,  274. 

Woman,  Omaha,  244,  245,  275,  276;  Texan 
Indian,  76,  81.121,  122,  125. 
Woodcock,  H.  L.,  389,  390. 

World’s  Columbian  Exposition,  387. 
Wortman,  I.  L.,  124  (note). 

Wright,  G.  F.,  215  (note),  221. 


Xichtecuhtli,  192. 
Xochimilco,  456. 


Xoconochco,  Chiapas,  41. 

Xonecuilli  (name  for  Ursa  Major),  4o3 
460,  461. 

Xonecuiltzin  (the  lame  lord),  460. 
Xochilhuitl  (flower  festival),  453. 

Yaxchilan,  bas-relief,  450. 

Yoakum,  94,  109.  _ 

Yucatan,  analogies  with  Ancient  Mexico, 
450,  457. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MPSEPM. 

—  Harvard  University— 

Vol.  I.  No.  1. 


STANDARD  OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


AN  HISTORICAL  ESSAY  ON  A  RELIC  OF 


ANCIENT  MEXICO. 


BY 

ZELIA  NUTTALL, 

Special  Assistant  of  the  Peabody  Museum. 


WITH  THREE  COLORED  PLATES. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY. 
1888. 


PRINTED  AT  THE 

SALEM  PRESS 
SALEM,  MASS. 


THE  GETTY  CENTER 

LIBRARY 


PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


The  Trustees  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archae¬ 
ology  and  Ethnology  have  decided  to  issue  such  special  papers 
as  have  heretofore  been  published  in  connection  with  the  An¬ 
nual  Reports  in  a  separate  form,  but  of  uniform  octavo  size 
with  the  Reports.  The  first  number  of  the  series  is  herewith 
published  and  others  will  follow  at  irregular  intervals  as  the 
means  for  printing  them  is  obtained. 

The  numbers  will  be  paged  consecutively  to  the  end  of  a 
volume.  Each  number  will  be  sold  separately  at  specified 
prices,  varying  according  to  the  number  of  pages  and  illus¬ 
trations,  but  subscriptions  will  be  received  in  sums  of  ten 
dollars  or  over,  and  subscribers  thus  aiding  the  publication 
by  such  advance  payments  will  receive  the  numbers  by  mail 
as  soon  as  issued,  at  a  discount  of  twenty  per  cent  on  the 
specified  price  of  the  numbers. 

As  the  Museum  is  without  a  special  fund  for  publication  it 
is  hoped  that  with  the  aid  of  such  a  system  of  subscriptions  it 
will  be  able  to  publish  a  series  of  papers  upon  archoeological 
and  ethnological  subjects  which  will  prove  of  value  to  stu¬ 
dents  and  creditable  to  the  Museum. 

The  Annual  Reports  will  be  issued  as  heretofore,  but  with 
the  omission  of  the  papers  which  have  usually  accompanied 
them. 

The  manuscript  by  Mrs.  Nuttall,  here  printed  as  the  first 
number  of  the  Papers  of  the  Museum,  was  prepared  after 

(3) 


4 


PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


an  examination  of  the  unique  piece  of  feather-work  dating 
from  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico  and  now  preserved 
in  the  Imperial  Ethnological  Collection  in  Vienna.  At  the 
solicitation  of  friends  in  Vienna  and  Dresden,  a  German 
translation  of  the  paper  was  made  for  publication  in  the  Ab- 
handlunsren  und  Berichte  des  K.  Zoolo^ischen  und  Anthro- 

O  O 

pologisch-Ethnographischen  Museums  zu  Dresden. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  while  the  interesting  piece  of  feather- 
work  sent  to  Europe  during  the  time  of  Cortes  is  made  the 
subject  of  the  paper,  the  importance  of  the  dissertation  is  in 
the  bearing  which  it  has  upon  the  customs  of  the  Mexicans  in 
relation  to  their  singular  head-dresses  and  insignia,  and  upon 
the  interpretation  of  the  ancient  Mexican  picture-writings,  in 
the  study  of  which  Mrs.  Nuttall  has  made  such  remarkable 
progress  and  has  obtained  such  important  results,  an  intima¬ 
tion  of  which  is  given  in  the  appendix  to  the  present  paper, 
in  the  note  upon  the  complementary  signs  of  the  Mexican 
graphic  system. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  of  the  Museum. 

Cambridge,  Mass., 

March  31,  1888. 


STANDARD  OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


To  the  distinguished  scholar,  the  late  Professor  Ferdinand  von 
Hochstetter,  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  preservation  of  the 
unique  specimen  of  ancient  Mexican  feather-work  which  will  be  ex¬ 
hibited  eventually  as  one  of  the  gems  of  the  rich  ethnological  col¬ 
lection  in  the  newly  erected  Imperial  Museum  of  Natural  History 
in  Vienna. 

In  1878,  his  attention  was  directed  to  its  former  presence  at  the 
Belvidere  Museum  by  a  notice  in  Baron  von  Sacken’s  descriptive 
catalogue  of  the  Imperial  Ambras  collection  printed  in  Vienna  in 
1855,  wherein,  among  rare  objects  from  various  parts  of  the  world, 
it  is  mentioned  as  follows  :  “  No.  3 — A  Mexican  head-dress  about 
3  ft.  in  height  composed  of  magnificent  green  feathers  with  golden- 
liued  lustre  and  of  coloured  bands  of  feather-work  studded  with 
small  plates  of  gold.  This  specimen  was  termed  in  the  inventory 
of  1596  ‘a  Moorish  hat.’  ”  Guided  by  this  note,  Herr  von  Hoch¬ 
stetter  with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Ilg,  the  custodian  of  the  Ambras 
collection,  found  the  precious  relic  and  rescued  it  from  an  obscure 
corner  of  a  show-case  where  it  hung,  folded  together,  next  to  a 
mediaeval  bishop's  mitre  and  surrounded  by  sundry  curiosities  from 
North  America,  China  and  the  Sunda  Islands.  It  was,  unfortu¬ 
nately,  in  so  impaired  and  moth-eaten  a  condition  that,  to  use  Herr 
Hochstetter’s  words,  he  feared  it  would  fall  to  pieces  on  taking  it 
from  the  case.  Permission  was  obtained  for  its  immediate  transfer 
to  the  ethnographical  collection  then  in  process  of  formation,  and 
the  valuable  object  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Herr  von  Hoch¬ 
stetter  who  proceeded  to  provide  for  its  future  preservation  and  to 
investigate  its  past  history  with  the  following  interesting  results.1 

Its  earliest  record,  dating  as  far  back  as  1596,  was  found  in  the 
first  inventory  of  the  Ambras  collection  written  one  year  after  the 

1  These  were  published  in  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  treatise  “  UeberMexikanischeRe- 
liquien  aus  der  Zeit  Montezuma’s,”  Wien,  1S84,  from  which  I  have  derived  this  and 
further  valuable  data. 


(5) 


6 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


demise  of  the  archduke  Ferdinand  of  Tyrol,  the  founder  of  the  col¬ 
lection,  by  the  imperial  commissioners  appointed  to  revise  his  will.1 
On  folio  472  of  this  ancient  document  it  is  catalogued  with  other 
objects  in  feather- work  contained  “in  a  chest  (No.  9)”  and  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  “a  Moorish  hat  of  beautiful,  long,  lustrous  green  and 
gold-lined  feathers,  bedecked  above  with  white,  red  and  blue  feath¬ 
ers  and  gold  rosettes  and  ornaments.  In  front,  on  the  forehead,  it 
has  a  beak  of  pure  gold.”  The  term  Moorish,  as  here  applied,  can 
scarcely  be  regarded  as  a  deceptive  one  inasmuch  as  “Montezuma, 
the  king  of  Temistitan  and  Mexico,”  is  subsequently  designated  as 
“a  Moorish  king”  in  this  same  inventory  of  1596.  (See  p.  9.) 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  gradual  changes  that  occur  in  the 
wording  of  the  subsequent  periodical  official  registrations  of  this 
“Moorish  hat.”  In  1613  its  description  was  faithfully  reproduced. 
In  1621  the  word  “Indian”  was  substituted  for  “Moorish;”  with 
this  single  alteration  the  original  text  was  again  transcribed  in 
1730.  In  1788,  however,  a  remarkable  transformation  was  effected, 
the  hat  became  “an  apron”  and  the  official  record  reads  :  “  An  In¬ 
dian  apron  of  long  green  feathers.  It  is  garnished  above  with  a 
narrow  band  of  white  feathers,  followed  by  a  broad  one  of  green, 
then  there  is  a  narrow  stripe  of  red  and  a  broad  one  of  blue.  The 
bands  are  studded  with  crescents  or  horse  shoes,  small  circular 
plates  and  other  thin  gold  pieces.  The  old  inventory  designates 
this  object  as  an  Indian  hat.” 

This  last  sentence  proves  the  identity  of  the  specimen  described. 
The  “beak  of  pure  gold  on  the  forehead”  is  not  mentioned  here 
and  no  subsequent  reference  is  made  to  it.  It  probably  found  its 
way  to  the  melting  pot  during  the  fifty-two  years  intervening  be¬ 
tween  the  two  registrations,  sharing  thus  the  common  fate  of  al¬ 
most  all  of  the  much  admired  goldsmiths’  work  brought  to  Europe 
by  the  Conquerors.  Despoiled  of  the  gold  beak  and  possibly  of 
such  means  of  attachment  as  may  have  originally  served  to  fasten 
it,  it  would  seem  as  though  the  object  had  been  deprived  of  that 
which  characterized  it  as  a  head-dress  for  it  remained  “an  apron” 

1  Ferdinand  II  of  Tyrol  (1529-1595),  whose  name  is  indissolubly  linked  with  that  of 
his  patrician  wile  Philippine  Welser,  was  the  second  son  of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  I 
of  Germany  and  the  nephew  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  At  the  death  of  Ferdinand  I, 
the  Empire  was  divided  between  his  three  sons  and  the  government  of  Tyrol  fell  to  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand  whose  court  became  a  noted  centre  of  art  and  learning.  His  fa- 
vorite  residence  was  the  castle  of  Ambras  near  Innspruck,  destined  to  be  gradually 
transformed  into  a  museum  for  the  world-renowned  and  magnificent  collection  brought 
together  through  the  manifold  and  systematic  exertions  of  its  enthusiastic  founder. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


7 


in  the  official  records  from  1788  to  1855.  In  that  year  Baron  von 
Sacken,  as  before  stated,  re-described  it,  however,  as  a  head-dress 
and,  for  the  first  time,  termed  it  Mexican;  a  specification  due,  it 
would  seem,  exclusively  to  the  fact  that  the  long  green  feathers 
were  pronounced  by  a  scientific  authority  (Dr.  Fitzinger)  to  belong 
to  the  Trogon  pavoninus,  the  Quetzal  of  Southern  Mexico  and  Gua¬ 
temala. 

Restored  to  light  by  Herr  von  Hochstetter  after  twenty-three 
years  of  oblivion,  the  use  of  the  elaborate  and  precious  piece  of 
feather- work  became  the  subject  of  thought  and  conjecture  result¬ 
ing  in  recent  publications  of  widely  divergent  individual  opinions. 

Mr.  T.  Maler,  a  resident  in  Mexico,  travelling  in  Europe,  saw 
1  the  object  in  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  custody  shortly  after  its  resto¬ 
ration,  and  obtained  his  permission  to  sketch  it.  Herr  von  Hoch¬ 
stetter  mentions  on  page  6  of  his  treatise  his  subsequent  surprise  at 
seeing  Herr  Maler’s  sketch  appear  in  a  French  periodical  (“La 
Nature,”  No.  300,  ler-  Mars,  1879)  accompanying  an  article  by 
the  same  gentleman  entitled  “Unvetement  royal  de  l’Ancien  Mex- 
ique”  and  “containing  a  number  of  misstatements  and  inaccura¬ 
cies.”  These  are  reproduced  in  a  brief  notice  by  Mr.  Maler  also 
entitled  “Un  ropaje  de  plumas”  inserted,  with  a  colored  reproduc¬ 
tion  of  his  sketch  in  the  Anales  del  Museo  nacional,  tomo  in, 
Mexico,  1886.  One  of  his  mistakes,  however,  can  be  traced  back 
to  the  writer  of  the  printed  catalogue  of  the  Ambras  collection, 
published  in  1819,  and  we  will  assume  that  Mr.  Maler’s  odd  and 
misleading  Spanish  translation  of  part  of  the  (misapplied)  German 
text  taken  from  the  above  source  is  due  to  an  oversight  in  proof¬ 
reading.1 

Other  errors  are  more  serious,  such  as  the  inaccurate  propor¬ 
tions  of  his  sketch  and  his  hasty  identification  of  the  species  of 
birds  whose  feathers  were  used,  as  he  supposed,  in  the  manufact¬ 
ure  of  the  object.  In  the  text  of  the  above  article,  Mr.  Maler 
gives  the  accurate  length  of  the  central  portion  of  the  feather  piece, 
1  metre  .05  centimetres,  but  on  his  colored  plate  the  measurement 
printed  is  1  metre  50  centimetres.  I  draw  special  attention  to  this 
error  (evidently  another  misprint),  because  I  notice  that  in  the  re- 


^he  original  quotation  is  “Ein  moerischevFederPuschen  so  aim  Ross  auf  die  Stirn 
gehort”  .  .  .  meaning  “a  Moorish  feather-tuft  like  those  used  as  plumes  on  horses’ 
heads.”  Herr  Maler’s  translation  reads :  a  Moorish  feather-tuft  for  the  forehead  of  a 
cavalier :  “Penacho  de  plumas  morisco  para  la  frente  de  un  caballero.” 


8 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


cent  publication  “Mexico  a  traves  de  los  Siglos”  the  incorrect  meas¬ 
urement  is  reproduced  with  Mr.  Maler’s  sketch  on  page  805.  It 
is  probable  that  the  exaggerated  dimensions  thus  assigned  to  the 
object  led  the  writer  of  the  above  work,  Seuor  Alfredo  Chavero, 
to  term  it  “a  rich  feather  mantle  with  gold  ornaments”  differing 
thereby  from  Mr.  Maler  who  assumed  that  the  “  garment  was  in¬ 
tended  to  be  worn  about  the  waist  as  an  apron.” 

Finally,  another  and  novel  interpretation  of  this  most  inter¬ 
esting  relic  has  been  given  b}r  Herr  von  Hochstetter.  At  the 
conclusion  of  a  careful  and  elaborate  treatise  on  this  subject  he  ex¬ 
presses  his  belief  that  this  “ancient  Mexican  piece  of  feather-work 
is  a  fan-shaped  standard  or  banner  that  once  belonged  to  a  military 
dignitary  of  highest  rank  at  the  court  of  Montezuma,  possibty,  to 
the  unfortunate  Emperor  himself.” 

On  reviewing  the  history  of  this  remarkable  piece  contained  in 
a  series  of  records  extending  over  a  period  of  nearly  300  jrears,  we 
find  that  in  its  original  perfect  condition  it  was  explicitly  recog¬ 
nized  as  a  head-dress  and  was  minutely  described  as  such,  and  this 
primary  appellation  surely  constitutes  of  itself  a  testimony  deserv¬ 
ing  to  be  most  carefully  weighed  and  tested.  For  it  was  written 
down  at  a  period  separated  from  that  of  the  Conquest  b}r  au  inter¬ 
val  of  only  seventy-five  }Tears — thus  at  a  date  when  most  of  the  rare 
specimens  of  Mexican  industry,  first  conveyed  to  the  old  World, 
still  existed  and  indeed  were  so  highly  prized  that  they  were 
deemed  fit  to  be  exchanged  as  presents  between  Pope,  Emperor 
and  King. 

The  quotation  of  a  few  passages  from  Dr.  Hirn’s  biography1  of 
the  imperial  founder  of  the  Ambras  collection  will  illustrate  the 
genuine  and  learned  interest  the  Archduke  Ferdinand  took  in  his 
costly  possessions  and  his  earnest  efforts  to  obtain  accurate  reg¬ 
istrations  of  historical  reminiscences  and  all  details  connected  with 
each  fresh  acquisition.  “No  branch  of  learning  was  more  enthu¬ 
siastically  cultivated  at  the  court  of  Ferdinand  than  that  of  history. 
His  lively  interest  in  historical  reminiscences  are  proven  by  the 
world-renowned  collection  of  Ambras  and  his  intercourse  with 
learned  men,  a  number  of  whom  were  emploj'ed  by  him  in  their 
special  line  of  study  and  research.”  (Page  353.) 

“It  was  his  intention  that  the  Ambras  arsenal  should  contain 

1  Erzherzog  Ferdinand  II  vonTirol.  Geschichte  seiner  Regierung  und  seiner  Lander. 
Dr.  Joseph  Him,  Innsprnck,  18S4-18S7. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


9 


the  armour  of  celebrated  men,  not  merely  on  account  of  their  beauty 
or  artistic  value,  but  by  reason  of  the  historical  memories  linked 
to  them.  The  most  simple  and  inornate  article  was  therefore  wel¬ 
comed  if  associated  with  any  important  event.”  (Page  435.)  “The 
Archduke  aimed  still  further  and  he  endeavoured  through  his  nu¬ 
merous  agents  to  obtain  authentic  portraits,  biographies  and  gene¬ 
alogies  of  the  persons  to  whom  these  objects  had  belonged.”  .  .  . 
The  learned  Jacob  Schenk,  his  most  indefatigable  collector,  was 
ordered  to  prepare  “a  book  of  armour”  in  which  copper  plate  por¬ 
traits  of  all  the  personages  whose  armour  had  a  place  in  the  collec¬ 
tion  were  to  be  published  with  biographical  sketches.  This  magnifi¬ 
cent  work,  a  marvel  of  artistic  skill,  was  not  completed  when  the 
Archduke  died,  but  it  appeared  in  1601.  (Page  351,  op.  cit.) 

The  Inventory  of  1596  affords  the  corroborative  proof  of  a  pre¬ 
viously  existing  method  of  labelling  the  articles  in  the  Archducal 
Museum  by  the  reference  (after  its  brief  entry)  to  “  a  slip  of  paper 
attached  to  it,”  for  further  details  concerning  the  history  of  an  In¬ 
dian  axe  “  that  had  belonged  to  a  Moorish  king.”  The  reference 
to  this  “  slip  of  paper  ”  is  repeated  in  1621,  and  we  are  informed  of 
the  details  it  contained  in  the  Inventory  of  1788  (vol.  i,  fol.  215). 
“  This  weapon  belonged  to  Montezuma  II,  king  of  Temistitan  and 
Mexico.  It  was  sent  by  the  Spanish  Captain  Ferdinand  Cortes  to 
the  Pope  whence  it  came  as  a  present  to  Archduke  Ferdinand.” 
Dr.  Hirn,  however,  mentions  it  (op.  cit.,  p.  439)  among  the  mis¬ 
cellaneous  gifts  bestowed  upon  the  Imperial  collector  by  Count 
Hannibal  von  Hohenems. 

It  is  obvious  from  this  evidence  that  no  pains  would  have  been 
spared  at  least  to  obtain  the  designation  which  had  accompanied 
the  feather-piece  from  Mexico,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  con¬ 
clude  that  the  most  elaborate  and  precious  piece  of  feather-work 
possessed  by  the  Imperial  connoisseur  was  named  and  registered 
as  a  hat  —  head-dress  in  the  Inventory  of  1596  by  authentic  and 
trustworthy  authority.1 

Moreover,  an  investigation  of  the  forms  of  feather  head-dresses 
described  in  the  early  Spanish  and  native  chronicles  and  preserved 
in  contemporaneous  records,  and  above  all  the  evidence  furnished 
by  the  relic  itself,  fully  convince  me  that  the  original  specification 
is  the  only  tenable  one  and  that  the  feather-piece  is  undoubtedly  a 
head-dress.  The  results  of  these  researches  are  now  presented 

'I  shall  refer  to  other  objects  in  Mexican  feather-work  that  at  one  time  formed  part  of 
the  Ambras  Collection. 


10 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


and  will  be  found  to  demonstrate  so  clearly  that  the  object  is  neither 
a  mantle  nor  an  apron,  that  it  is  quite  superfluous  to  adduce  fur¬ 
ther  proofs  in  contradiction  of  these  fallacious  suppositions.  But 
it  will  be  necessary  to  scrutinize  more  closely  the  grounds  upon 
which  Herr  von  Hochstetter  based  his  opinion  that  it  was  used  as 
a  stand  ai'd. 

The  chief  support  of  this  theory  is  the  undoubted  and  striking 
resemblance  to  the  feather-piece  which  is  presented  by  an  object  de¬ 
picted  behind  the  form  of  an  Aztec  warrior  in  a  small  oil  painting 
belonging  to  the  Bilimek  collection  of  Mexican  antiquities  acquired 
by  the  Vienna  Imperial  Natural  History  Museum  in  1878.  This 
and  a  companion  painting  of  the  same  size  and  b}r  the  same  hand 
are  executed  in  oil  colors  on  canvas.  They  were  both  so  much 
torn  that,  in  order  to  preserve  them  entire,  they  had  been  gummed 
to  an  old  piece  of  printed  paper  dated  Mexico,  1783.  It  would 
seem  as  though  the  figure  of  the  Aztec  warrior  had  been  copied 
from  a  native  manuscript  dating  from  shortly  after  the  Conquest, 
for  its  contour  and  details  retain  certain  conventionalities  charac¬ 
teristic  of  ancient  Mexican  pictography.1 

Herr  von  Hochstetter  considered  that  the  object  depicted  behind 
the  figure  of  the  warrior  was  an  ensign  or  standard,  here  represent¬ 
ed  as  though  it  were  fastened  to  the  back  of  the  combatant  and  as 
actually  being  carried  by  him.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  this  was 
the  habitual  way  in  which  Aztec  war-chiefs  bore  their  respective 
ensigns  into  battle,  and  the  practical  method  of  fastening  them  is 
disclosed  by  reference  to  the  group  of  fully  equipped  military  lead¬ 
ers,  viewed  from  behind,  copied  from  Padre  Duran’s  atlas.  (PI.  ii, 
fig.  1.)  In  a  number  of  illustrations  giving  the  front  view  of  such 
standard  bearers  it  is  evident  that  the  straps  which  were  passed 
over  the  shoulders  and  about  the  waist  crossed  each  other  over  the 
chest.2 

1  This  painting  underwent  complete  restoration  under  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  di¬ 
rection,  was  varnished  and  attached  to  a  stiff  background.  The  second  painting  re¬ 
tains  its  tattered  condition  and  bears  an  heraldic  shield  enclosing  the  coat  of  arms  of  a 
city  in  Mexico.  As  there  are  abundant  sources  of  information  on  the  armorial  bear¬ 
ings  bestowed  by  the  Spaniards  on  their  establishment  of  cities  and  towns,  it  will  be 
comparatively  easy  to  identify  those  on  the  painting  and  this  identification  will  be  of 
interest  on  account  of  the  side  light  it  may  throw  upon  the  origin  of  the  painting  of  the 
Mexican  warrior. 

3“Each  company  had  its  standard  bearer  who  carried  the  banner  mounted  on  its  staff 
and  tied  in  such  a  way  to  his  shoulders  that  it  did  not  hinder  him  from  fighting  or  from 
doing  anything  he  had  a  mind  to;  and  it  was  so  well  bound  to  his  body  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  anyone  to  unfasten  it  or  take  it  from  him  without  cutting  him 
to  pieces.”  Conquistador  Anonimo  III  en  Icazbaleeta,  Documentos,  tomo  i,  Mexico, 
1858.  See  also  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana,  tomo  I,  p.  525,  Madrid,  1723. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


11 


The  Nahuatl  name  for  standard  or  banner  in  general  was  quach- 
pantli  or  (with  a  common  inversion  of  the  final  syllable)  quach- 
panitl  and  quachpamitl,  a  word  literally  meaning  “  that  which  is 
carried  above  (or  on)  the  shoulders” —  the  sole,  customary  way,  it 
should  be  noted,  of  carrying  banners  in  Aztec  warfare.1 

Although  Clavigero,  Bernal  Diaz  and  others  in  their  exagger¬ 
ated  accounts  of  the  battle  of  Otumba,  speak  of  the  standard  car¬ 
ried  by  Cihuatzin,  the  leader  of  the  Mexicans,  as  though  it  had 
been  a  central  ensign  the  seizure  of  which  decided  the  battle  in  fa¬ 
vor  of  the  Spaniards,  it  seems  evident  that  it  was  the  death  of  their 
supreme  war-chief,  and  not  the  loss  of  a  national  emblem,  that  so 
disconcerted  the  Mexican  warriors  and  caused  their  flight  and  de¬ 
feat.  We  are  told  that,  “  according  to  the  usage  of  these  people, 
the  standard  Cihuatzin  bore  was  strongly  fastened  to  his  body,  that 
it  consisted  of  a  lance  or  staff  nearly  10  hand-breadths  (palmos) 
high,  to  the  top  of  which  a  golden  net  was  fastened,  and  that  this 
particular  kind  of  standard  was  named  tlahuizmatlaxopili”  (Clav¬ 
igero,  ed.  Mora,  Mexico,  1844,  p.  75).  An  analysis  of  this  word 
compared  with  the  detailed  description  of  the  object  itself  proves 
that  it  is  a  synthesis  of  tlauiztli  =  insignia,  ensign,  matlatl  = 
net  and  topilli  =  staff,  pole,  and  therefore  that  the  correct  spell¬ 
ing  of  the  name  should  be  tlahuizmatl  a  topilli  =  the  ensign  of 
the  net  and  staff.2 

A  device  answering  somewhat  to  this  description  is  represented 
in  the  collection  of  Mendoza  as  actually  carried  by  a  war-chief  of 
exalted  military  rank  “  who  had  acquired  the  right  to  wear  it  on  ac¬ 
count  of  his  bravery  and  the  distinction  of  having  made  five  or  six 
enemies  prisoners.”  (PI.  ii,  fig.  2.) 

An  equivalent  insignia,  whose  form  recalls  that  of  a  fishing-net, 
depicted  on  p.  80  of  Vatican  Codex  (Kingsborough,  vol.  iii),  is 

1  M.  R£mi  Simeon,  in  his  Dictionnaire  de  la  langue  Nahuatl,  and  Mr.  Ad.  Bandelier 
in  “  On  the  Art  of  War  among  the  ancient  Mexicans  (in  note  82),  give  the  derivation  of 
quachpantli  as  from  quachtli  =  mantle  or  cloak,  and  pan  =  upon,  above.  I  would  seek 
further  back  for  its  derivation  and  suggest  that  the  radical,  both  of  quachtli  =  cloak 
and  quachpantli  =  ensign,  was  the  word  quechtli  =  shoulders  or  neck,  above  which 
both  of  these  objects  were  carried.  From  this  word  quechtli  with  the  affix  pan,  above, 
a  whole  series  of  words  is  formed:  quechpan,  toquechpan  =  on  the  shoulders,  on 
one’s  shoulders.  Again,  quechpanoa  =  to  carry  somebody  or  something  on  or  above 
one’s  shoulders.  (For  further  examples,  see  Molina’s  Vocabulario  and  M.  Remi  Sim¬ 
eon’s  Dictionnaire.) 

2  Mr.  Simeon’s  attention  was  evidently  not  arrested  by  the  description  of  the  object, 
as  he  reproduces  the  synthesis  without  correction  and  analyzes  it  literally  as  com¬ 
posed  of  tlauiztli,  matlatl  and  xopili  =;  toe  =  “  the  insignia  of  the  net  and  toe.” 


12 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


represented  four  times  in  the  tribute  roll  of  the  Mendoza  collec¬ 
tion,  and  the  network,  surrounded  by  a  light  frame  of  variegated 
feather-work,  is  invariably  painted  light  yellow-gold.  The  frame¬ 
work  tapers  towards  the  top  which  is  surmounted  by  a  bunch  of 
tall  feathers  rising  from  a  solid  cup-shaped  base,  exactty  similar 
to  that  terminating  a  curious  device  consisting  of  a  long,  winding 
ribbon  invariably  painted  light,  yellow-gold.  This  is  depicted  in 
the  Mendoza  collection  in  Cortes,  Historia  de  Nueva  Espana  (ed. 
Lorenzana,  Mexico,  1770).  (PI.  n,  fig.  4.)  Also  in  Padre  Duran’s 
Atlas  (trat  i,  lam“8  5,  7,  11,  22  and  30).  In  the  latter  work  we 
see  how  this  device  was  actually  carried.  (PI.  ii,  fig.  1,  first  and 
fourth  warrior.)  The  apex  of  the  tall  staff  seems  to  be  inserted 
into  the  socket  containing  the  terminal  bunch  of  quetzal  feathers 
and  the  streamer  hangs  loosely  about  the  firm  central  support.  On 
reading  in  the  Cronica  de  Tezozomoc  (p.  595)  of  a  device  with  the 
fanciful  name  of  Tzococolli1  =  “  running  river,  river  of  gold,  gild¬ 
ed  river,”  one  cannot  but  think  it  possible  that  this  floating  ribbon, 
probably  covered  with,  or  made  of  gold  leaf,  like  the  military  de¬ 
vice  called  malpanitl  (see  opus  cit.,  p.  301),  might  easity  have  de¬ 
served  this  figurative  appellation. 

The  ensign  borne  by  the  second  war-chief  of  the  same  group 
(PI.  ii,  fig.  1)  and  consisting  simply  of  a  large  bunch  of  feathers, 
mounted  on  a  staff,  is  very  frequently  represented  either  as  used 
singly  or  in  numbers  of  two,  three  and  four. 

The  third  chief,  clad  in  the  skin  of  an  “ocelotl”  (American  tiger), 
a  costume  indicative  of  high  military  rank,  carries  the  flag-shaped 
device  (PI.  n,  fig.  3),  which  evidently  was  the  representative  form  of 
quachpantli  =  ensign,  banner,  as  it  was  constantly  used  in  Nahuatl 
ikonomatic  writing  for  the  phonetic  value  pantli  or  pan.  In  tribute 
rolls,  etc.,  a  plain  flag  of  this  form,  united  by  a  drawn  line  to  con¬ 
ventional  representations  of  objects,  expressed  the  numeral  20  = 
cempoualpantli  (see,  for  example,  PI.  ii,  fig.  4). 2 3  I  shall  revert 
later,  in  the  appendix  to  this  paper,  to  its  frequent  use  as  “pan.” 

1  Compare  with  cocoyotl  =  narrow  stream  of  water,  spring  and  cocotzoa  =  to  run 

swiftly  (see  Molina’s  Vocabulario). 

3  To  understand  how  a  flag  =  pantli  came  to  express  the  numeral  20,  it  is  necessary 
to  become  acquainted  with  some  of  the  Nahuatl  systems  of  numeration  given  in  Padre 
Molina’s  Vocabulario.  There  was  one  simple  and  more  generally  used  method  of  enu¬ 
meration  in  which  I,  for  instance,  was  ce  and  20  =  cempoualli.  Various  affixes  were 
added  to  these,  the  radical  numerals,  according  to  the  classes  of  objects  that  were  being 
counted. 

In  enumerating  chickens,  eggs,  beans,  fruits,  etc.,  etc.,  and  all  things  that  were  round 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


13 


These  three  most  widely  represented  forms  of  ensigns  by  no 
means  exhaust  the  list  of  those  whose  names  and  pictures  have 
been  handed  down  ; 1  but  they  will  amply  suffice  to  establish  certain 
facts  of  radical  importance  in  connection  with  the  subject  now  un¬ 
der  investigation.  They  prove  that  ensigns  were  constructed  with 
some  consideration  for  the  accidental  wear  and  tear  to  which  they 
would  be  naturally  exposed  by  the  peculiar  method  of  carrying 
them  and  with  due  regard  to  the  convenience  as  well  as  the  per¬ 
sonal  safety  of  their  bearers. 

These  last  considerations  rendered  it  absolutely  imperative  that 
the  ensigns  should  be  of  such  a  shape  as  in  no  way  to  impede  the 
rapid  motions  and  swift  progress  of  their  bearers  and  therefore  we 
see  that  whereas  height  was  fully  indulged  in,  breadth  of  surface 
was  avoided.  The  broadest  example  that  I  have  observed  repre¬ 
sented  as  worn  (PI.  11,  fig.  5)  seems  to  partake  of  the  advantage 
of  the  flag  shape  and  to  be  fastened  sidewise  in  loose,  weathercock 
fashion  to  its  staff,  thus  offering  but  a  thin  line  of  resistance  to  the 
air  when  its  bearer  was  in  motion.2 

With  this  knowledge  of  the  sole  manner  in  which  ensigns  were 
carried  in  Aztec  warfare  and  of  the  facts  above  recorded,  it  is  ren¬ 
dered  evident  that  a  wide-spreading  object  like  that  depicted  in  the 

or  rolled,  1  was  centetl  and  20  —  cempoualtetl.  This  affix  tetl  means  stone  or  something 
hard  like  stone:  totoltetl  — egg  is  a  synthesis  of  tototl  =  bird  and  tetl  =  stone-like.  For 
the  counting  of  discourses,  sermons,  paper,  dishes,  pairs  of  shoes  or  sandals,  etc.,  and 
things  that  were  folded  or  a  collection  of  diverse  objects,  the  affix  was  tlamantli :  1  = 
centlamantli,  etc.  For  ears  of  corn,  maize,  plantains,  certain  cakes,  etc.,  1  =  cemolotl, 
20  =  tlamic.  For  persons  or  houses  standing  in  rows  and  all  things  placed  in  order  and 
line  the  affix  was  pantli  =  1  cempantli  and  20  -  cempoualpantli.  There  were  also  two 
different  methods  of  counting  objects  collectively  by  twenties  (see  op.  cit.,  fol.  119). 
The  very  word  for  twenty  =  cempoualli,  meant  “one  counting”  and  signified  “one  set 
of  20  objects.”  It  will  be  easily  perceived  therefore  how  a  single  flag  conveyed  the 
sound  =  pantli  and  also  stood  for  one  counting  =  cempoualli  and  thus  expressed  the 
specific  numeral  cempoualpantli. 

i  See  collection  of  Mendoza,  pts.  II  and  ill.  Attention  is  drawn  to  the  fact  that,  in 
the  text  of  the  above  and  in  the  early  chronicles,  the  Spanish  word  divisa  =  device  was 
applied  equally  to  ensigns  or  banners  and  feather  head-dresses  and  evidently  meant  in¬ 
signia  or  marks  of  distinction  in  general. 

-  It  is  undoubtedly  a  flag-shaped  banner  that  is  interestingly  described  as  follows  in 
the  important  Memoria  of  the  first  presents  sent  by  Cortes  to  Charles  V  in  1519,  to 
which  document  reference  will  be  made  later 

“A  fan  of  feather  work,  fastened  in  weathercock  fashion,  to  a  staff  covered  with 
painted  leather  and  surmounted  with  a  cup  (copa)  of  featherwork.  At  the  summit  it 
has  many  long  green  feathers.”  Considering  that  the  presents  recorded  in  the  “Me¬ 
moria”  were  those  originally  sent  by  Montezuma,  through  his  messengers,  to  the  ad¬ 
vancing  Spaniards,  and  that,  at  the  time  the  document  was  prepared,  Mexico  was  still 
unconquered  and  Aztecs  in  war-equipment  had  not  yet  been  seen,  it  is  explicable  how 
the  above  banner,  whose  use  was  still  uuknown  to  the  writers  of  the  “Memoria,”  was 
termed,  by  them,  a  fan. 


14 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


oil  painting  so  frequently  referred  to  and  considered  by  Herr  von 
Hochstetter  to  be  a  standard,  was  constructively  unfitted  for  that 
service.  It  would  have  required  the  support  of  more  than  the  sin¬ 
gle  staff  mentioned  by  him  ( opus  cit.,  p.  14)  and  would  have  im¬ 
peded  the  freedom  of  action  and  celerity  of  its  bearer. 

Moreover,  on  referring  to  the  unique  example  of  a  wide  spread¬ 
ing  ensign  described  in  the  text  to  the  Mendoza  collection  as  “a 
device  of  small  precious  feathers”  (PI.  11,  fig.  6)  we  find  it  pro¬ 
vided  with  the  firm  support  of  a  neatly  constructed  framework, 
so  like  those  represented  on  the  backs  of  the  warriors  in  fig.  1, 
that  one  naturally  infers  that  it  was  attached  in  precisely' the  same 
position  and  manner.  In  this  case  the  fan-shaped  ensign  would 
scarcely  have  exceeded  the  height  of  the  top  of  the  head  of  its 
wearer. 

These  indisputable  facts  lead  to  the  legitimate  conclusion  that 
if  the  historical  feather-piece  in  the  Imperial  Museum  were  really 
such  an  ensign  it  would  have  been  borne  on  the  shoulders  in  the 
usual  way  and  therefore  one  would  expect  at  least  to  discover 
traces  that  its  construction  had  been  of  a  suitable  character.  A 
careful  examination  of  the  feather-piece  proves  that  such  evidences 
do  not  exist.  Nor  can  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  inference  that  the 
object  painted  above  the  Aztec  warrior  in  the  small  oil-picture  is 
a  standard,  be  accepted  merely'’  on  account  of  its  position,  for  it 
shares  this  with  an  arrow  placed  crosswise,  a  piece  of  rope  and  a 
house,  as  a  glance  at  the  copy  of  the  picture  will  show  (PI.  n, 
fig.  7). 

Any  one  at  all  familiar  with  Mexican  ikonomatography  will  at 
once  realize  the  fact  that  we  have  to  deal  here,  not  with  the  details 
of  a  warrior’s  equipment  but  with  a  rebus,  a  group  of  images  united 
solely  for  the  sounds  of  their  names.1  The  position  of  this  inscrip¬ 
tion  above  the  warrior  is  in  accordance  with  recognized  custom  and 
the  thread  or  drawn  line  uniting  the  arrow  to  the  house  beneath  it 
proves  that  the  parts  of  this  group  of  sounds  relate  to  each  other 
and  to  the  same  subject. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  decipher  the  component  parts  of  this  in¬ 
scription  by  the  light  of  the  trustworthy'  interpretations  given  to 

1  “  II  est  presque  superflu  de  rappeller  ici  1’observation  generate  que  dans  toutes  les 
peintures  mexicaines  les  objects  r4nnis  a  uue  tete  avec  un  111  indiquent  a  ceux  qui 
saveut  la  langue  des  naturels  les  noms  des  persounes  que  l’artiste  a  voulu  designer. 
Les  naturels  prononcent  ce  nom  d5s  qu’ils  voient  l’liieroglyphe  ”  (Alexandre  de  Hum¬ 
boldt,  p.  54,  Vues  des  Cordilleras.  Paris,  1810). 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


15 


parallel  images  by  the  native  or  early  Spanish  translators  and  an¬ 
notators  of  some  ancient  Mexican  manuscripts. 

The  parallel  of  the  fan-shaped  object  exists  in  the  noted  “Mex¬ 
ican  Hieroglyphic  Manuscript  from  the  collection  of  Boturini,”  re¬ 
produced  in  Lord  Kingsborough’s  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  i.1 
It  forms  in  two  instances  part  of  the  hieroglyph  recording  the  name 
of  one  of  the  four  leaders  of  the  historical  Aztec  migration.  The 
names  of  these  four  personages  are  recorded  without  variation  in 
the  oldest  as  well  as  in  the  latest  principal  works  of  ancient  Mex¬ 
ican  history  and  are  as  follows  :  Tezcacoatl,  Cuauhcoatl,  Chimalma 
and  Apanecatl.  The  phonetic  value  of  the  images  forming  the  hi¬ 
eroglyphs  of  the  first  three  names  are  so  well  known  that  they  can 
be  immediately  deciphered.  The  remaining  name  Apanecatl  is 
expressed  by  the  familiar  fan-shaped  object  placed  above  the  con¬ 
ventional  sign  for  water  (PI.  i,  fig.  8). 2 

Before  analyzing  the  phonetic  elements  contained  in  this  “rebus” 
let  us  direct  our  attention  to  the  word  Apanecatl.  It  is  restricted 
as  a  proper  name  to  the  above  mentioned  personage  in  Mexican 
history  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  it  recorded  as  a  common 
noun  in  any  Nahuatl  dictionary.  But  the  following  passages  in 
Fray  Bernardino  de  Sahagun’s  invaluable  Historia  afford  a  clew  to 
its  meaning  and  etymology.  “Those  who  called  themselves  Amante- 
cas  were  those  who  made  feather-work.  They  were  most  skilful  and 
neat  in  what  they  did  and  were  in  fact  the  inventors  of  the  art  of 
working  in  feathers.  They  made  in  this  way  shields  and  other  in¬ 
signia  (insignias)  which  they  called  apanecayotl,”  chap,  xxix, 
lib.  x.  “The  Toltecs  went  to  meet  him  .  .  .  taking  certain 

armour  (armas)  or  ornamental  devices  (divisas)  called  quetzal3 


1  Before  the  original  MSS.  left  Mexico  it  was  copied  by  the  Mexican  historian  Don 
Carlos  de  Siguenza  de  Gongora.  This  copy  was  subsequently  lithographed  in  Ignacio 
Cumplido’s  Spanish  edition  of  Prescott’s  Conquista  de  Mexico,  184G,  vol.  in.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  a  tradition  recorded  in  the  accompanying  text,  the  MSS.  dates  from  before  ttie 
Conquest  and  was  presented  to  Cortes  by  Montezuma.  At  all  events  the  authenticity 
and  antiquity  of  this  document  are  unquestionable. 

'2  See,  for  instance,  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana,  Madrid,  1723,  vol.  I,  p.  78  and 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Historia  Antigua  de  Mexico,  1880,  vol.  3,  p.  70. 

The  late  Mexican  savant  and  historian  Senor  Orozco  y  Berra  (op.  and  l.  c.)  errone¬ 
ously  took  this  image  to  be  that  of  a  “bridge  of  reeds,”  an  inadmissible  supposition  as 
numerous  instances  established  the  single  conventional  mode  of  representing  bridges 
by  a  plank  of  wood  on  which  footsteps  were  painted  placed  across  a  line  of  water  as 
for  instance,  in  “Collection  Mendoza,”  part  n,  p.  68. 

!  This  word  specifies  that,  in  this  instance,  the  devices  were  ornamented  with  the 
tail-feathers  ( quetzalli )  of  the  quetzal. 


16 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


apanecayotl  and  shields  called  xiuhchimalli.1  They  dressed,  or 
accoutred  him  (vistieronlo)  with  these  in  token  of  triumph  and 
honour.”  Chap,  vi,  lib.  iii. 

With  this  evidence  to  guide  us  there  is  no  difficulty  in  deter¬ 
mining  the  etymology  of  apanecayotl  which  we  ascertain  to  be  the 
abstract  or  general  term  for  such  insignia  as  clothed  or  encircled 
in  some  way  their  wearer,  being  derived  from  the  verb  “  apana  = 
to  adorn,  clothe  or  encircle  one’s  self  with  a  blanket  or  something 
similar”  (Molina  Vocabulario).2 

As  a  study  of  the  tribute  rolls  reveals  but  two  kinds  of  military 
insignia  =  the  standards  =  quachpantli  “  that  were  carried  on  the 
shoulders  ”  and  the  various  kinds  of  head-dresses,  we  must  conclude 
that  the  feather  head-gears  which  were  bound  about  the  head,  were 
commonly  designated  as  apanecayotl  while  each  special  variety 
had,  as  was  the  case  with  the  standard,  its  own  descriptive  and 
often  fanciful  appellation.  As  the  high  authority  of  the  Boturini 
MSS.  establishes  the  fact  that  such  a  fan-shaped  object,  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  complementary  sign,  to  which  we  shall  again  refer  in 
the  appendix,  expressed  the  sound  apanecatl,  it  can  safety  be  con¬ 
cluded  that  its  colored  representation  in  the  Vienna  oil  painting 
with  quetzal  feathers,  which  are  quite  unmistakable,  jdelds  the  pho¬ 
netic  value  quetzalapanecatl.  This  word  we  will  now  investigate. 

In  Monsieur  Re  mi  Simeon’s  dictionary  we  find  “  Quetzalapan  = 
a  locality  north  of  the  city  of  Mexico  conquered  by  Montezuma  II,” 
and  in  Clavigero  (ed.  Mora,  p.  140),  the  record  that  in  1512,  an 
army  of  Mexicans  marched  northwards  against  the  Quetzalapanecas3 
and  returned  victoriously  with  the  (doubtful)  number  of  1,330  pris¬ 
oners.  Therefore  assuming  that  this  word,  in  connection  with 


1  This  word  is  composed  of  Chimalli  =  shield  and  xiuitl  =  turquoise.  An  example 
of  an  ancient  Mexican  shield,  inlaid  with  turquoise,  coral  or  pink  shell,  and  mother-of- 
pearl  is  preserved  at  the  British  Museum  in  the  Christy  collection. 

2  Words  ending  in  yotl  orotl  are  nouns,  meaning  in  the  abstract,  the  qualities  of  such 
and  such  a  thing:  for  instance,  Teotl  =  God,  Teoyotl  =  divine;  Ilhuicatl  =  Heaven, 
Ilhuieayotl  =  heavenly.  Abstract  nouns  in  otl  also  signify  the  usages,  customs  and 
rites  of  nationalities,  provinces  etc.,  etc.  Thus  Michhuacayotl  means  something 
from  Michhuacan  (a  province  in  Mexico),  its  customs,  produce,  condition.  (Padre 
Carochi  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Mexicans,  Mexico,  1645,  fol.  53.) 

See  also,  op.  cit.,  the  following  words :  Nantli  -  -  mother,  Nanvotl  —  motherhood ;  Yam- 
anqui  =  something  soft,  Yamancayotl  =  softness;  Nemi  =  to  live,  Nencayotl  =  food, 
support,  that  by  which  we  live. 

3  The  singular  of  this  word  is  Quetzalapanecatl  and  it  is  formed  according  to  the 
rules  set  forth  by  Padre  Carochi,  Arte,  p.  57.  IVhen  names  of  localities  end  in  pan, 
the  names  for  their  inhabitants  are  formed  by  adding  ‘  ecatl:  ’  for  instance,  Tlacopan 
=  Tlaeopanecatl,  an  inhabitant  of  Tlacopan.” 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


17 


the  Mexican  warrior  of  the  oil  painting,  may  either  designate  his 
nationality  or  merely  record  his  prerogative  to  make  use  of  the 
feather-work  insignia  =  Quetzalapanecatl,  we  proceed  with  the  de¬ 
cipherment.  The  next  object,  an  arrow,  represents  the  sound  of 
its  name  =  tlacochtli.  When  placed  above  a  head  that  wears  the 
copilli  or  diadem  (PI.  11,  fig.  9),  it  expresses  the  ancient  title 
Tlacochtecuhtli  =  lord  of  the  arrows  ;  painted  above  a  house  = 
calli,  it  conveyed  the  appellation  Tlacochcalcatl,  lord  of  the  house 
of  arrows,  which  was  borne  by  one  of  the  four  principal  chiefs  of 
Mexico.  This  title  seems  to  have  been  identical  with  the  first  and 
was  borne,  as  we  shall  see,  by  Montezuma  and  his  predecessors 
when  filling  the  post  of  supreme  war  chiefs. 

In  the  rebus  the  arrow  is  united  by  a  line  to  the  house  beneath, 
and  I  would  read  tlacochcalcatl,  translating  the  title  which  is  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  full  military  equipment  of  the  Mexican  warrior,  as 
— ;  “  captain  general  ”  or  supreme  war-chief.1 

Finally,  the  image  of  a  house  =  calli,  and  that  of  a  cord  =  mecatl, 
yield  the  combined  sounds  calmeca  to  which  I  feel  authorized  to 
add  the  suffix  hua,  meaning  “  possessor  or  lord  of,”  as  numerous 
instances  precede  in  which  the  idea  of  possession  is  meant  to  be 
understood  merely  from  the  proximity  of  objects  to  the  image  of 
an  individual.2  Whatever  the  origin  of  the  word  Calmecahua  may 
yet  prove  to  be,  it  is  recorded  as  an  historical  name  more  than  once 
in  Mexican  chronicles.  It  was  borne  by  the  “  captain  of  the  troops 
of  Maxixcatzin”  (one  of  the  four  chiefs  of  the  Republic  of  Tlaxcala) 
“  who  fought  like  a  lion  ”  on  the  side  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Otumba.  This  valiant  chief  took  in  baptism  the  name  of 
Don  Antonio  and  is  reputed  to  have  been  further  distinguished  by 


'See  hieroglyph  of  Tlacochcalcatl  Mendoza  Collection,  part  I,  pi.  xvm.  For  rec¬ 
ords  of  title  see  Tezozomoc  (op.  cit.),  cap.  xii,  p.  24,  cap.  xxxvi,  p.  57 ;  Duran  (op.  cit.) 
cap.  xi,  p.  102,  etc.,  and  Orozco  y  Berra  (op.  cit.),  vol.  i,  p.  252;  Ad.  F.  Bandelier,  op. 
cit.,  p.  121.  Simeon’s  Dictionnaire  translates  the  title  thus :  “  captain  general  —  this 
title  was  given  captains  who  had  taken  four  prisoners  in  war.”  See  also  liis  transla¬ 
tions  of  Sahagun’s  Historia,  pp.  228,  522,  806,  541. 

2  A  striking  instance  of  this  is  preserved  in  a  valuable  ancient  MSS.  (also  from  the 
Bilimek  Collection),  belonging  to  the  Ethnographical  Museum  of  Vienna.  A  banner 
above  a  house,  adjoining  a  seated  figure  (PI.  II,  fig.  11)  expresses,  according  to 
the  contemporary  annotation  the  name  of  “the  locality”  =Panhuacan  =  place  of  the 
possessor  of  a  banner,  can  (suffix)  meaning  “place  of  the”  preceding  noun.  Hua  =  pos¬ 
sessor  or  lord  of  that  which  precedes,  pan  =  pantli  =  banner.  In  this  case  the  house 
denoting  =  place  of,  and  the  figure  denoting  =  possess  ion,  are  ideographic  and  the  ban¬ 
ner  =  pan  alone  expresses  the  sound  of  its  name.  This  example  reveals  some  of  the 
difficulties  that  bar  the  progress  of  the  decipherment  of  the  Nahuatl  graphic  system. 

2 


P.  M.  VOL.  I. 


18 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


attaining  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years.1  Ixtlilxochitl 
cites  Don  Antonio  Calmecahua  as  one  of  the  authors  of  the  his¬ 
tory  of  Tlaxcala  written  in  1548,  and  mentions,  on  the  same  page-, 
another  individual  Tezopatzin  Calmecahua  with  the  same  surname. 

When  read  from  below  upwards,  the  order  observed  in  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  similar  instances,  the  deciphered  inscription  sounds  :  Cal¬ 
mecahua  Tlacochcalcatl  Quetzalapanecatl.2  Thus,  we  obtain  (1) 
the  name  of  a  famous  historical  personage,  accompanied  by  (2)  a 
title  recorded  to  have  been  borne  by  him,  and  (3)  either  a  tribal 
designation  that  would  prove  him  to  have  been  an  enemy  of  the 
Mexicans,  the  conquerors  of  his  people,  and  natural  ally  of  the 
Spaniards  (which  would  explain  his  policy  at  the  battle  of  Otumba) , 
or  the  record  of  his  possession  of  the  prerogative,  which  we  shall 
see  to  have  been  confined  to  the  Tlacochcalcatl,  of  using  such  a 
feather-work  insignia.  Indeed  this  is  found  to  be  appropriately  and 
consistently  decorated  with  a  design  of  small  arrows  =  tlacochtli. 

Complementary  evidence  seems  to  corroborate  the  correctness 
of  this  decipherment.  The  weapon3  in  the  warrior’s  right  hand  is 
covered  with  tiger  skin  and  the  use  of  this  in  military  accoutre¬ 
ments  was  strictly  limited  to  the  lords  or  war  chiefs  who  had  earned 
the  high  military  title  of  ocelotl  (tiger).4  The  ornament  on  his 
head,  evidently  the  quetzaltlalpiloni,  betokens  of  itself  exalted 
rank  and  was  restricted  exclusively  to  the  lords  and  valiant  men.5 

There  are  two  additional  points  connected  with  the  image  of 
the  Mexican  warrior  that  deserve  attention. 

Herr  von  Hochstetter,  in  describing  him,  saj^s  {op.  cit.,  p.  15)  : 
“At  his  feet  lie  the  amputated  heads  of  the  enemies  he  slew  ;  his 
right  foot  rests  on  one  of  them.”  In  connection  with  this  statement 
I  need  only  refer  to  the  constant  occurrence  in  Mexican  pictogra¬ 
phy  of  heads  without  bodies,  this  being  the  recognized  and  well 

1  Clavigero  (op.  cit.,  p.76).  See  also  Torquemada  (op.  cit.,  tomo  i,  p.  436)  and  Ileim 
Simeon’s  Dictionnaire.  Ixtlilxochitl  Historia  Chichimeca  in  Kiugsborough’s,  vol.  XI, 
p.  293. 

2  The  sequence  of  name  and  title  is  the  customary  one,  exemplified  by  the  following 
names  followed  by  military  titles  given  in  Torquemada  (op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  565).  Axo- 
quentzin  Quachic,  Temilotzin  Tlacateccatl,  Itzpapalotzin  Otomitl. 

3  It  closely  resembles  in  shape  an  example  in  the  Mendoza  collection,  part  n,  plate 
68,  termed  by  the  annotator  lanzones  (lances). 

4  Clavigero  (op.  cit.,  p.  215),  “The  tigers  (belonging  to  the  third  military  grade)  were 
distinguished  by  armour  made  of  tiger  skin.”  See  cited  example  in  Padre  Duran’s 
Atlas. 

Sahagun  (op.  cit.,  lib.  vn,  cap.  xn).  “The  lords  carried  also  other  armour  and  de¬ 
vices  called  ocelototec,  made  of  tiger  skin  strewn  with  rays  of  gold.” 

6  See  Text  to  Vatican  Codex,  pi.  lxxxvi,  Kingsborough,  vol.  vi. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


19 


known  cursory  method  of  representing  individuals.  I  cite  in 
proof  the  following  instances  : 

On  the  obverse  of  folio  2  of  the  valuable  Mexican  MSS.,  No. 
29040,  dating  from  about  1530,  as  described  in  Mr.  Bernard 
Quaritch’s  Catalogue,  No.  363,  1885,  “  a  seated  figure  of Tenanca¬ 
caltzin”  is  depicted  .  .  .  .  “  with  his  emblem  at  foot,  which  is 
formed  by  a  group  of  amputated  heads  of  princes.  On  the  re¬ 
verse  are  the  figures  of  a  king  and  his  son  ....  This  leaf  is  in¬ 
tended  to  exhibit  the  ancestry  of  Ixtlilxochitl.”  I  am  under  obli¬ 
gation  to  Mr.  Quaritch  for  allowing  me  to  copy  the  Nahuatl  text 
(in  Spanish  letters)  of  this  unique  document.  The  inscription 
under  the  first  figure  and  its  emblem  is  “Tenancacaltzin  inhue  ypilt- 
zontecomatl  ”  =  Tenancacaltzin,  proper  name,  inhue  (inique?)  = 
these,  y  =  his,  pil  =  sons,  tzontecomatl  =  heads.  The  writer  of 
the  above  description  in  the  catalogue  translated  pil  =  pilli  by 
“  princes.”  Although  the  name  is  often  used  to  designate  those 
of  noble  birth,  the  usual  meaning  of  it  is  simply  son,  child  :  thus 
pilhua  =  is  (see  dictionaries)  “  he  who  has  (possesses)  many 
children  =  the  head  of  a  large  family.”  According  to  the  trans¬ 
lator,  this  folio  “  evidently  deals  with  genealogy.”  I  have  seen  a 
somewhat  similar  disposition  of  heads  in  another  authentic  docu¬ 
ment  (in  private  hands),  accompanied  by  the  Nahuatl  word  —  tla- 
caxinachotl  =  lineage,  descent.  In  the  presence  of  these  examples, 
and  the  absence  of  precedent  for  the  interpretation  of  “decapi¬ 
tated  ennemies,”  it  will  be  as  well  to  consider  whether  such  heads 
may  not  be  explained  as  merely  representing  the  number  of  legit¬ 
imate  descendants  belonging  to  the  accompanying  portraiture  of 
an  individual  who  would  be  thereby  designated  as  a  pilhua :  head 
or  founder  of  a  large  family. 

The  second  feature  of  this  painting  is  the  fact  that  the  person¬ 
age  is  depicted  as  dressed  in  a  human  skin.  This  is  worthy  of  spe¬ 
cial  note,  inasmuch  as  it  not  only  corroborates  the  deciphered  title, 
but  throws  light  on  a  subject  of  wider  interest. 

A  remarkable  example  of  a  parallel  representation  of  an  his¬ 
torical  character  is  recorded  in  Lord  Kingsborough’s  Mexican  An¬ 
tiquities^  where  it  is  stated  that  in  an  unpublished  portion  of  the 
Codex  Yaticanus  “  Montezuma  as  a  priest  and  generalissimo  of 
the  Mexican  armies  during  the  lifetime  of  his  predecesor  Ahuizotl 

1  Vol.  vi,  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Telleriano  Remensis  (footnote,  p.  142)  and  of 
the  Cod.  Vaticanus  (p.  179). 


20 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


is  painted  clad  in  a  human  skin.”  This  statement  is  confirmed  by 
Torquemada1  who  relates  that  it  was  said  that  “  Montezuma  had 
worn  a  human  skin  at  a  certain  festival  and  performed  a  religious 
dance  in  it,  to  witness  which  rare  spectacle  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  capital  city  and  neighboring  people  came  together.”  Torque¬ 
mada  further  states  that  “  this  singular  usage  was  probably  not 
invented  by  Montezuma,  but  had  been  practised  by  his  ancestors 
or  by  neighbouring  kings.” 

The  collation  of  the  following  testimony,  taken  from  various 
sources,  gives  a  clew  to  the  import  of  the  singular  garb  worn  as 
insignia  of  rank  and  affords  a  curious  insight  into  the  mysterious 
past  of  a  people  whose  records  have  reached  us  only  in  distorted 
form  either  through  the  hands  of  antagonistic  strangers  or  of  alien¬ 
ated  descendants. 

“  They  say  that  Totec  (a  deified  hero  the  companion  of  Quetz- 
alcoatl)  was  accustomed  to  go  about  clothed  in  a  human  skin  .  . 
In  the  festivals  which  they  celebrated  to  him,  men  clothed  them¬ 
selves  in  the  skins  of  those  whom  they  had  slain  in  war  and  in 
this  manner  danced  and  celebrated  the  festival”  (Kingsborough, 
vol.  vi,  p.  179).  “At  the  feast  Tlacaxipehualiztli,  they  paid 
homage  to  an  idol  that  bore  three  names.  The  first  name  was 
Totec  .  .  also  Tota,  which  means  father  (to  =  our,  tatli  =  father). 
Although  I  was,  at  first,  unable  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the 
name  Totec  and  was  nonplussed,  I  questioned  and  cross-examined 
and  finally  extorted  the  explanation  that  it  signified,  awful,  ter¬ 
rible,  fear-inspiring  lord”  (Padre  Duran,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  147). 
“  At  the  solemn  festival  Tlacaxipehualiztli,  the  bodies  of  sacrificed 
victims  were  flayed  and  those  who  wore  the  skins  were  called 
Tototectin  (singular  Totec)”  (Duran,  Ami.  i,  p.  179  ;  see  also  p. 
148  and  Sahagun,  lib.  i,  cap.  xvii).  “Of  the  two  supreme  pontiffs, 
elected  on  account  of  their  perfections  and  merits,  the  first  one 
called  Quetzalcoatl  was  surnamed  or  entitled  Totec”2  (Sahagun, 
appendix  to  book  hi,  chapter  ix).  “  The  priesthood  dwelt  in  the 
building  called  Calmecac  Avhere  they  conducted  the  education  of 
the  male  youth”  (see  Sahagun,  book  hi,  chap.  vm). 

Now  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  in  ancient  Mexico  certain  in- 

1  Monarquia  Indiana,  lib.  vil,  cap.  xx. 

2  I  would  identify  the  title  given:  Totec  tlamacazqui  (to  =  our,  teculitli  =  lord, 
tlamacazqui,  priest)  spelt  also  Teotec  tlamacazqui  in  Sahagun  ( loc .  cit.),  with  the  title 
Teotecuhtli  given  in  Torquemada  {op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  p.  175).  See  also  Orozco  y  Berra, 
op.  cit,,  vol.  I,  p.  231. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


21 


dividuals  could  become  the  living  representation  of  their  tribal  de¬ 
ity,  wear  its  distinctive  insignia  and  garb,  and  bear  its  name  which 
became,  in  their  case,  a  reverential  title.1 

Therefore,  when  we  encounter  the  presentment  of  an  historical 
personage  painted  as  wearing  the  reputed  garb  of  the  god  Totec, 
it  is  safe  to  infer  that  the  individual  is  thus  designated  as  having 
borne  the  exalted  title  of  Totec  tlamacazqui,  and  that  he  had  filled 
the  office  of  liigh-priest  —  one  that,  by  no  means,  would  have  ex¬ 
cluded  him  from  deserving  military  dignities  as  well.2  For  the 
priesthood  formed  no  distinct  caste  in  the  social  organization  of 
ancient  Mexico.  Its  members  went  to  war  and  the  priest,  tlamac¬ 
azqui,  who  secured  three  or  four  prisoners  received  the  military 
title  of  Tequia  and  added  this  to  his  priestly  one.  Sahagun  (book 
ii,  chap,  xxv)  explains  the  plural  of  the  appellation  thus  acquired  : 
Tlamacaz-tequi  caque  by  “  Priests  who  have  performed  heroic 
feats  in  war.”  It  is  indeed  interesting  to  be  able  by  means  of 
Montezuma’s  picture  in  the  Codex  Yaticanus  safely  to  determine 
that  he  had  earned  by  his  virtues,  merits  and  zeal  in  serving  in 
the  temple  the  special  title  of  Quetzalcoatl  Totec  tlamacazqui  of 
Huitzilopochtli.  A  strange  glimpse  into  his  earlier  life  is  afforded 
by  Torquemada’s  record  if  we  infer,  as  may  well  have  been  the 
case,  that  the  large  festival  at  which  Montezuma  performed  a  sol¬ 
emn  religious  dance,  clad  in  the  symbolic  garb  of  the  hero-god 
Totec,  was  the  ceremony  of  his  investiture  and  assumption  of  the 
exalted  title  and  rank  bestowed  upon  him  by  election.  As  “gen¬ 
eralissimo,”  Montezuma’s  title  would  naturally  have  been  Tlacocli- 
calcatl,  or  Tlacochtecuhtli ;  and  indeed  we  find  this  title  recorded 


1  “All  noblemen  did  represent  idolles  and  carried  the  name  of  one.”  Acosta,  Nat- 
urall  and  Morall  Historie  of  the  East  and  West  Indies,  translated  by  E.  G.  London* 
1601,  lib.  5,  p.  349.  In  connection  with  the  wearing  of  the  distinctive  garb  of  a  deity  by 
priests,  see  Sahagun,  op.  cit.,  book  n,  chap,  xxi,  Fray  Motolinia  (Coleccion  de  docu- 
mentos,  Icazbalceta,  Mexico  tomo  i,  trat.  I,  ch.  v);  Duran,  op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  283;  vol. 
II,  pp.  91,  92,  106).  I  give  further  quotations  and  references  relating  to  this  subject  in 

The  Terracotta  Heads  of  Teotihuacan,”  Am.  Journ.  of  Archteology,  Baltimore,  18S6. 

2  Compare  with  the  following  “Montezuma  was  elected  to  the  regal  dignity  in 
1502  .  .  .  for  his  superior  qualifications  both  as  a  soldier  and  priest,  a  combination  of 
offices  sometimes  found  in  the  Mexican  candidates  ...  In  early  youth  he  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  wars  of  the  empire,  though  of  late  he  had  devoted  himself  more 
exclusively  to  the  services  of  the  temple,  and  he  was  scrupulous  in  his  attentions  to  all 
the  burdensome  ceremonial  of  the  Aztec  worship”  (Prescott,  Conquest  of  Mexico, 
London,  1865,  vol.  i,  p.  236).  It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  here  that  the  correct  form  of 
the  name  is  Motecuhzoma.  It  is  given  thus  by  Torquemada  and  Sahagun,  and  their 
valuable  authority  is  confirmed  by  the  hieroglyph  expressing  the  phonetic  parts  of  the 
name  and  by  its  meaning. 


22 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


as  borne  by  him  at  the  time  of  his  election  as  successor  to  Ahui- 
gatl,  in  the  chronicle  of  Tezozomoc  (p.  571).  The  same  writer 
affords  good  grounds  for  believing  that  Alniizotl,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  filled  the  post  of  Totec-tlamacazqui  (see  p.  568). 

We  have  indicated  already  the  evidences  showing  that  the  same 
two  titles  were  carried  by  the  Mexican  priest-warrior  of  the  Bili- 
mek  Collection. 

In  connection  with  one  of  these  titles  a  few  words  may  be  added. 
The  Totec-tlamacazqui,  or  supreme  pontiff  as  the  Spanish  writers 
termed  him,  must  naturally  have  held  certain  prerogative  and  ex¬ 
ercised  some  power  in  the  Calmecac,  the  building  where  the  learned 
men  of  ancient  Mexico  dwelt  and  imparted  their  knowledge  to  the 
youth  and  gave  them  religious  and  military  training.  His  dignity 
as  the  lord  or  master  of  the  Calmecac  could  have  been  expressed 
by  no  other  word  than  that  of  Cahnecahua,  and  thus  the  deciphered 
word,  preserved  as  a  surname  by  Don  Antonio  of  Tlaxcalla,  proves 
to  be  a  specific  designation.1  As  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  Tez- 
opatzin  (see  p.  18),  it  was  placed,  as  such  titles  usually  were,  im¬ 
mediately'  after  the  name. 

Having  advanced  thus  far  in  our  attempted  explanation  and 
decipherment  of  the  Bilimek  painting,  we  have  gained  the  cer¬ 
tainty  that  the  images,  depicted  behind  the  personage  represented 
in  it,  yield  phonetic  elements  admitting  of  plausible  decipherment, 
and  therefore  annul  the  evidence  derived  from  the  mere  position  of 
the  fan-shaped  object,  the  basis  of  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  assump¬ 
tion  that  it  was  a  standard.  Let  us  now  examine  the  further 
grounds  on  which  he  founded  his  final  opinion. 

Although  Herr  von  Hochstetter  (p.  15,  op.  cit.)  expresses  his 
belief  in  being  able  to  prove  that  the  feather  piece  was  not  used 
as  a  fan  but  was  carried  as  a  standard,  he  names  it  elsewhere  (p. 
16)  a  “  Facher  Standarte ”  (fan-standard)  and  subsequently  goes 
so  far  as  to  think  it  probably  identical  with  a  “  fan”  mentioned 
among  the  presents  sent  by'  Cortes  to  Charles  V.  He  tells  us  that  his 
friend  and  colleague,  Professor  Dr.  Budinger,  had  drawn  his  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  portion  of  Prescott’s  History  of  Mexico  (London),  1860, 
containing  the  inventory  of  the  first  presents  sent  by  the  Con- 

1  See  the  preceding  examples,  of  the  use  of  the  suffix  hua  (p.  7  and  note  1,  p.  9).  In¬ 
variably  associated  with  the  power  of  possession  it  meant,  according  to  the  noun  after 
which  it  was  placed,  lord  or  master  of,  possessor  of,  keeper  of,  also  inhabitant  of,  as 
for  instance :  altepetl  =  village,  altepehua  =  villager. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


23 


queror  to  his  Emperor,  among  which  figured  a  fan  “of  variegated 
feather-work,  with  thirty-seven  rods  plated  with  gold”  and  “five 
fans  of  variegated  feather-work,  four  of  which  have  ten  and  the 
other  thirteen  rods  embossed  with  gold.”  After  quoting  these  en¬ 
tries  in  English  text  Herr  von  Hochstetter  proceeds :  “These  fans 
are  described  in  a  few  characteristic  words  so  entirely  applicable 
to  our  feather-piece  that  indeed  it  would  not  be  possible  to  des¬ 
cribe  it  better  in  brief  than  as  ‘a  fan  plated  with  gold.’  ” 

It  will  be  noticed  by  English  scholars  that  this  abbreviated  quo¬ 
tation  causes  the  words  “plated  with  gold”  erroneously  to  qualify 
the  fan  instead  of  the  rods,  the  meaning  really  conveyed  in  the 
original  text.  Upon  this  Herr  von  Hochstetter  reasons  that  the 
word  “rods”  in  this  case  scarcely  could  have  borne  its  literal  mean¬ 
ing  and  that  he  would  prefer  to  translate  it  as  “Strahlen”  =  rays. 
I  must  refer  the  reader  for  further  details  on  this  point  to  the  en¬ 
suing  sentences  of  the  Professor’s  memoir.  It  will  suffice  to  state 
here  that  on  observing  that  exactly  thirty-seven  gold  crescents 
formed  the  narrow  ornamental  border  of  the  feather  piece  and  that 
this  number  agreed  with  that  of  the  “rods”  of  the  fan  above  de¬ 
scribed,  Herr  von  Hochstetter  chose  to  consider  this  coincidence 
was  not  merely  accidental  but  that  it  rendered  it  probable  that  the 
fan-shaped  standard  is  the  piece  of  feather-work  described  among 
the  presents  sent  by  the  Conqueror  to  Charles  Y,  as  a  “Facher  aus 
verschiedefarbigen  Federschmuckwerk  mit  37  Strahlen  und  mit 
Goldplattclien  besetzt  ”  (op.  cit.,  p.  19).  This  is  no  doubt  an  un¬ 
intentionally  distorted  translation  of  the  English  text  upon  which 
I  need  not  dwell. 

In  order  to  remove  all  possibility  of  misunderstanding  as  to  the 
true  significance  of  the  word  “rods”  let  us  go  back  to  the  original 
Spanish  text  of  the  “Memoria  de  la  joyas,  etc.,  remitadas  al  emper- 
ador  Carlos  V,  por  Don  Fernando  Cortes,  etc.,  en  1519,”  as  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Coleccion  de  documentos  ineditos  para  la  Historia  de 
Espana,  Navarrete,  Madrid,  1842,  vol.  i,  p.  461  ;  and  also  appended 
to  the  Spanish  translation  of  Clavigero’s  Historia  Antigua  de  Mex¬ 
ico,  ed.  Mora,  Mexico,  1844,  p.  309.  The  above  publications  of 
this  important  document  are  the  most  valuable  ones  we  possess  as 
they  reproduce  in  full  the  copy  of  the  original  Memoria  as  care¬ 
fully  collated,  in  1754,  by  Don  Juan  Batista  Munoz  with  the  au¬ 
thentic  copy  preserved  in  the  “Casa  de  la  Contratacion”  at  Sevilla, 
in  a  volume  entitled  “Manual  del  Tesorero.” 

The  entries  in  question  occur  as  follows.  The  variations  found 


24 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


by  Munoz  to  exist  in  the  Sevilla  copy  are  given  in  parenthesis. 
Un  moscador  de  plumajes  de  colores  con  treinta  y  siete  verguitas 
(verjitas)  cabiertas  de  oro  “Cinco  (cuatro)  moscadores  de  plu- 
maje  de  colores  y  los  cuatro  de  ellos  (que  los  tres  del  los)  tienen  a 
diez  (y  tienen  a  tres)  canoncitos  cubiertos  de  oro  y  el  uno  tiene 
trece  (y  el  uno  tiene  a  trece).”  The  literal  translation  of  this 
passage  is  :  “a  fan  of  variegated  feathers  with  37  small  sticks  cov¬ 
ered  with  gold.”1  “Five  fans  of  variegated  plumage  four  of  them 
have  ten  small  quills  covered  with  gold  and  one  has  thirteen 
(quills).”2 

Now  let  us  learn  from  a  comparative  study  of  the  native  pictures 
of  typical  Aztec  fans  as  carried  by  ambassadors,  reproduced  on  PI. 
ii,  figs.  13a  and  6,  what  opportunities  their  usual  form  afforded  for 
the  application  of  gold  decoration.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  termi¬ 
nation  of  the  ornamental  handle  formed  the  point  of  departure  for 
radial  feathers,  or  for  ornamental  sticks  or  rods,  laid  on  a  surface 
of  featherwork,  for  the  purpose  of  stiffening  this.  I  can  only  con¬ 
sider  that  the  fans  recorded  in  the  second  entry  before  cited  must 
have  been  made,  as  many  modern  fans  are  and  as  that  represented 
in  fig.  13&  seems  to  be,  of  stout  wing  feathers,  the  “quills”  of  some 
of  which  were  covered  with  gold.”  The  fan  described  in  the  first 
entry  with  its  “37  sticks  covered  with  gold”  resembled  more  prob¬ 
ably  the  more  elaborately  ribbed  variety  shown  in  fig.  13a;  and  it 
undoubtedly  agrees  with  the  description  given  by  Sahagun  of  some 
fans  “which  had  bands  of  gold  accompanying  the  feathers”  and 
were  used  by  the  lords  in  their  solemn  dances. 

In  ancient  Mexico  the  fan  was  a  mark  of  rank  and  dignity. 
The  chiefs  alone  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  carrying  them  in  their 
hands  during  ceremonial  dances.  Envoys  to  neighboring  tribes 
bore  them  as  an  official  badge  and  we  find  records  of  precious  fans 
being  exchanged  as  gifts  between  head-chiefs.  Thus  Tezozomoc 
relates  {op.  cit.,  p.  411)  that  Nezahualcoyotl,  the  “lord  of  men” 


*A  valuable  old  note,  taken  also  from  Navarrete’s  coleccion  de  documetos  ineditos, 
contains  the  following  explanations  of  the  almost  obsolete  Spanish  terms  employed  in 
the  “Memoria”  to  which  it  is  appended  (in  ed.  Mora,  loc.  cit.);  mosqueadorcs  =  a  sort  of 

fan  made  of  feathers,  like  those  used  in  the  present  day  by  ladies . The  ancient 

Mexicans  employed  the  choicest  feathers  in  manufacturing  them  and  decorated  their 
handles  with  precious  stones.  Verjitas  —  “varillas”  made  of  metal  or  some  other  ma¬ 
terial,  etc. 

According  to  Spanish  dictionaries :  varillas  are  the  ribs  or  sticks  of  a  fan. 

The  modern  form  of  verjita  seems  to  be  vergueta  =  small  twig  or  stick.  See  also 
verguilla— gold  or  silver  wire. 

-  Canon = quill,  cylindrical  pipe  or  tube.  (See  Spanish  dictionaries.) 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


25 


of  Texcuco  presented  bis  Mexican  compeer,  Axayacatl,  with  “a 
large  fan  of  precious  featherwork  with  a  sun  in  its  centre  made  of 
fine  gold,  around  which  many  valuable  emeralds  and  rubies  were 
mounted,  and  (on  p.  413)  that  the  messengers,  sent  by  Axayacatl 
to  invite  a  certain  chief  to  partake  in  the  great  festival  he  was 
about  to  give,  took  with  them,  among  other  gifts,  a  broad,  large  and 
precious  fan  decorated  with  gold,  precious  stones  and  transparent 
amber.  “Fans  made  of  the  finest  feathers  with  the  moons  in  their 
centre,  made  of  gold”  are,  moreover,  enumerated  as  part  of  the 
tribute  paid  by  the  province  of  Cuetlaxtlan. 

These  descriptions  are  best  understood  by  reference  to  PI.  n, 
fig.  135,  in  the  middle  of  which  a  circular  plate,  painted  yellow,  is 
represented,  and  the  fact  that  this  detail  is  present  in  a  fan  of  or¬ 
dinary  size  justifies  the  inference  that  the  presents  described  above 
even  if  of  larger  dimensions  were  made  after  the  same  conventional 
model  and  were  intended  also  to  be  carried  in  the  hand.1 

I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  in  the  elaborate  descriptions  of 
festivals  minutely  described  in  native  chronicles  any  record  of  the 
use  of  gala-fans  carried  on  a  staff  by  attendants  on  state  occa¬ 
sions,  as  was  surmised  by  Herr  v.  Hochstetter  to  have  been  the 
case  with  the  feather-piece.  A  single  instance  of  the  bearing  of 
fans  by  menials  is  given  by  Bernal  Diaz2  who  states  that  each  of 
the  five  messengers  sent  by  Montezuma  to  reprove  the  inhabitants  of 
Quiavistlan  for  affording  hospitality  to  the  Spaniards  “  held  a  rose 
in  his  hand  which  he  occasionally  put  to  his  nostrils  and  that  Indian 
servants  followed  with  fans.”  Considering,  however,  that  both 
Torquemada  (op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  400)  and  Acosta  (op.  c it.,  p.  77) 
state  of  these  same  messengers  that  “  they  carried  in  one  hand  a 
short,  thick  staff  and  in  the  other  large  fans  made  of  feathers  that 
were  the  prerogatives  of  chieftains  alone,”  and  the  extreme  im¬ 
probability  that  an  insignia  of  rank  and  article  of  luxury  should 
be  relegated  to  menials ;  the  testimony  of  Bernal  Diaz,  although 
that  of  an  eyewitness,  may  well  be  dismissed,  especially  as  his 
work  was  only  written  after  a  lapse  of  thirty  years  from  the  time 
of  the  Conquest.  The  representations  figured  on  PI.  ii,  13  a,  5,  re- 


1  The  two  Nahuatl  names  for  fans  clearly  convey  the  use  to  which  they  were  put 
Ecaceuaztli  is  a  synthesis  of  wind  —ecatl,  and  ceualli  =  shade.  Ecatzacuilhuaztli  is 
the  verbal  noun  from  ecatzacuilia  —  to  screen  one’s  self.  With  an  inversion  of  its  first 
syllable  and  a  transposition  of  its  vowels,  the  word  ceualli,  shade,  is  recorded  indiffer¬ 
ently,  as  ceuallotl,  ecauliyotl  and  ecauillotl. 

2  Histoire  veridique  de  la  Conquete  de  la  nouyelle  Espagne  trad.  Jourdanet,  Paris, 
1877,  p.  109. 


26 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


veal  the  size  of  the  fans  used  by  such  official  messengers,  and  these 
examples  prove  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  plain,  literal  meaning  of 
the  words  in  the  Spanish  “  Memoria”  can  be  accepted  without  hes¬ 
itation. 

The  size  of  the  Vienna  feather-piece  alone  renders  it  quite  un¬ 
suitable  for  a  fan.  On  Professor  von  Hochstetter’s  own  authority 
there  are  absolutely  no  evidences  of  thirty-seven  gilded  rods  ever 
having  formed  part  of  its  decoration,  and  his  final  inference  and 
conclusion  as  to  its  probable  identity  with  the  fan  recorded  among 
the  Conqueror’s  gifts  must  be  dismissed  as  non-supported  and 
therefore  inadmissible. 

Proceeding  now  to  an  examination  of  the  historical  feather- 
piece,  we  shall  allow  its  structural  details  to  determine  finally  its 
true  purpose. 

As  it  now  hangs,  in  a  handsome  frame  spread  out  against  a 
background  of  black  velvet,  it  presents  a  gorgeous  appearance. 
The  long,  loose  fringe  of  quetzal  feathers  (now  hanging  down¬ 
wards)  alone  exhibits  slight  evidences  of  age  and  decay.  Else¬ 
where,  all  such  appearances  have  been  carefully  eliminated  ;  for  the 
restoration  made  under  Herr  v.  Hochstetter’s  direction  was  a  com¬ 
plete  one  and,  if  viewed  as  a  labor  requiring  no  small  amount  of 
skill  and  patience,  is  found  to  deserve  the  highest  praise.  Several 
hundred  missing  gold  ornaments  were  replaced  by  exact  reproduc¬ 
tion  in  copper  gilt.  Owing  to  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  obtain  a 
sufficient  number  of  birdskins  of  the  particular  Central  American 
species,  whence  Herr  v.  Iioehstetter  believed  the  feathers  forming 
the  turquoise  blue  band  had  been  originally  derived,  twenty-four 
skins  of  the  East  Indian  kingfisher  {Halcyon  fusca  Gray),  closely 
similar  in  color,  were  used  in  restoring  its  pristine  freshness. 

Ethnologists  will  probably  never  cease  to  regret  that  once  its 
future  conservation  was  ensured,  the  venerable  relic  was  not  left 
untouched  ;  and  they  cannot  but  consider  its  restoration  an  irrepa¬ 
rable  error,  for  it  almost  entirely  deprives  those  interested  in  study¬ 
ing  the  methods  of  ancient,  native  handiwork  of  personal  inspec¬ 
tion  and  observation.1  On  the  other  hand,  one  cannot  but  appreciate 

1  Notwithstanding  the  exceptional  facilities  for  studying  the  Mexican  antiquities 
preserved  at  the  Ethnographic  Museum  of  Vienna  afforded  hy  the  courtesy  of  its 
Custos,  Herr  Franz  Heger,  and  his  perfect  willingness  to  oblige,  a  close  inspection  of 
the  object  so  elaborately  mounted  behind  glass  in  a  massive  frame  was  not  granted  me. 
I  am  under  an  obligation  to  Herr  Heger,  thatl  beg  herewith  to  acknowledge,  for  kindly 
supplying  me  with  an  exact  tracing  of  the  outlines  of  the  feather-piece  made  over  the 
glass  and  from  which  my  measurements,  differing  slightly  from  those  given  by  Herr 
v.  Hochstetter,  were  taken.  The  tracing  revealed  that  the  proportions  of  the  founda- 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


27 


a  restoration  which  enables  one  actually  to  confront  the  reality  of 
the  barbaric  splendor  which  so  impressed  the  Spaniards. 

Fortunately,  however,  Herr  von  Hochstetter  published  a  minute 
description  of  the  feather-piece  before  its  restoration,  and  it  is  up¬ 
on  this  that  we  now  rely  for  knowledge  of  many  details  at  present 
inaccessible  to  view  being  either  concealed  or  obliterated  by  the 
restoration. 

The  fan-shaped  base  of  the  feather-piece  is  composed  of  harmo¬ 
niously  disposed  concentric  bands  of  delicate  feather-work  studded 
with  thin  beaten  gold  plates  of  different  shapes  (see  PI.  i,  c,  d,  /,  g) 
provided  with  small  symmetrical  perforations  by  means  of  which 
they  were  stitched  in  place.  The  crescent-shaped  gold  ornaments 
and  the  smaller  tile-shaped  ones  exhibit,  moreover,  small  projec¬ 
tions,  evidently  meant  to  be  concealed,  on  which  these  holes  were 
pierced, — a  trifling  detail,  but  one  that  confirms  the  accounts  given 
by  the  early  Spaniards  of  the  truly  admirable  nicety  of  Mexican 
industrial  art,  in  all  its  branches. 

Next  to  the  magnificent  loose  fringe,  which  was  originally  com¬ 
posed  of  about  five  hundred  of  the  long  tail  feathers,  of  which  each 
male  quetzal  bird  possesses  but  two,  the  most  striking  and  beau¬ 
tiful  feature  of  the  specimen  is  the  broad  turquoise  blue  band. 
On  this  a  design  is  uniformly  executed  with  the  diminutive  tile- 
shaped  gold  pieces  of  which  Herr  von  Hochstetter  counted  no  less 
than  fourteen  hundred  after  having  replaced  about  five  hundred 
missing  ones.  Overlapping  each  other,  like  fish  scales,  these  are 
so  disposed  as  to  form  a  flexible,  rectilinear  pattern  architectonic 
in  outline  and  somewhat  resembling  a  series  of  small  towers.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  a  verification  Herr  Custos  Heger  was  kind  enough  to 
communicate  to  me,  there  are  fifteen  of  these  tower-like  projections 
on  the  concentric  band  of  blue,  five  more  are  repeated  on  the  su¬ 
perimposed  piece.  The  fine  delicately  lined  feathers  of  which  this 
turquoise  band  was  originally  composed  had  been  apparently  fast¬ 
ened  in  a  most  dexterous  manner  to  a  background  of  agave  paper 
but  had  suffered  most  from  the  ravages  of  insects.  Only  two  and 
a  half  of  the  original  crescent-shaped  pieces  of  gold  that  form  the 

tion  for  the  feather  bands  had  not  been  quite  accurately  reproduced  in  Herr  v.  Hocli- 
stetter’s  work.  Indeed,  a  close  comparison  of  the  front  and  back  views  he  published, 
shows  quite  a  difference  between  both  in  the  depth  of  the  curved  opening  at  its  base. 
Our  artist,  in  whose  hands  the  model  was  placed,  has  endeavored  in  PI.  I  to  reproduce 
its  proportions  while  adhering  in  detail,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  corrections,  to 
which  we  shall  refer  later,  to  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  illustrations. 


28 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


border  close  to  the  inner  edge  of  this  band  were  still  in  place.  The 
bare  spots  left  here  and  elsewhere  showed,  more  or  less  clearly, 
the  former  places  of  attachment  of  the  vanished  original  gold  or¬ 
naments  and  guided  their  conscientious  restoration. 

The  narrow  scarlet  band  edging  the  blue  needed  no  restoration 
and  Herr  von  Hochstetter  draws  attention  to  a  nicety  in  the  ar¬ 
rangement  of  the  feathers  used  in  it,  which  are  so  disposed  that 
their  inner  side  curls  outwards  forming  a  projecting  ruffled  border 
of  effective  appearance.  Above  this  is  an  entirely  new  fringe 
made  of  the  small  wing  feathers  of  the  quetzal.  The  original  band 
was  found  to  be  completely  destroyed.  The  reddish  brown  one  fol¬ 
lowing  consists,  according  to  Herr  von  Hochstetter,  of  the  easily 
recognized  tail  feathers  of  the  long-tailed  cuckoo  ( Diaya  cayanei 
Linn.)  which  is  met  with  in  Mexico,  Central  America  and  South 
America  including  Brazil.  These  were  so  placed  that  their  white 
tips  formed  the  outer  sharply  defined  broad  line  studded  with  a 
number  of  small  gold  discs.  Of  the  original  ones  but  forty-one  re¬ 
mained  and  these  “  were  left  in  place  ”  and  are  distinguishable  in 
our  illustration  by  being  shaded,  while  the  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  imitations  are  unshaded.  Herr  von  Hochstetter  records  only 
one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  of  the  latter  and  in  his  illustration 
the  number  of  gold  discs  forming  the  outer  row  on  the  concentric 
white  border  and  on  the  middle  piece  is  sixty-eight. 

Herr  Franz  Heger,  who  was  kind  enough  to  indicate  the  places 
occupied  by  the  genuine  discs,  also  informed  me  that  he  had  as¬ 
certained  the  presence  of  six  more  imitations  than  had  been  enum¬ 
erated  by  Herr  von  Hochstetter.  Four  of  these,  terminating  the 
concentric  bands,  were  partly  concealed  under  the  middle  piece. 
The  two  that  are  visible  have  been  added  in  our  illustration,  one  at 
the  inner  end  of  each  of  the  two  upper  right  hand  rows. 

We  will  now  examine  the  back  of  the  object  expecting  it  to 
furnish  testimony  of  importance.  It  resembles  somewhat  an  open, 
modern  fan  and  is  composed  of  a  firm,  net-like  fabric,  woven  with 
much  accuracy  and  neatness,  of  finely  twisted  threads  (probably 
of  agave  fibre)  and  stiffened  bjr  twenty-eight  thin  sticks  covered 
with  fibre  and  woven  into  the  net  at  regular  intervals.  The  quills 
of  all  the  feathers  (with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  turquoise 
band)  were  so  delicately  and  skilfully  knotted  to  this  net  that  the 
front,  with  its  series  of  sharply  denned  symmetrical,  concentric 
bands  formed  a  closely  covered,  flexible  texture  of  feather-work. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


29 


The  quills  of  the  long  quetzal  feathers  forming  the  broad,  loose 
fringe,  were  also  fastened  to  the  net  and  were  firmly  caught  in  its 
meshes  in  no  less  than  three  places.  Corresponding  exactly  on 
both  sides,  the  radial  width  of  the  network  and  its  concentric 
bands  in  front  is  28.5cm.  The  central  elevated  portion  measures 
45cm.',  being  adapted  to  the  support  of  the  superimposed  middle 
piece  which  is  32cm.  high  from  its  base  of  attachment  in  front 
and  20-30cm.  wide.  The  semicircular  opening  at  the  base,  of 
special  importance,  is  15cm.  deep,  and  measures  26cm.  across. 

The  total  width  of  the  feather-piece  is  considerably  increased 
by  the  fringe  of  quetzal  feathers  52cm.  wide.  This  was  held  to¬ 
gether  by  a  series  of  loops  of  thread  ultimately  fastened  to  the 
projecting  sticks  visible  above  the  central  elevation.  This  centre, 
upon  which  additional  strain  was  naturally  thrown,  was  thought¬ 
fully  supplied  with  power  to  resist  it.  It  was  strengthened  by  a 
stiff  lining  of  hide  (presumably  deer  skin)  and  was  also  provided 
with  an  external  set  of  dexterously  disposed  sticks  in  addition  to 
its  radial  stiffenings. 

Two  thin  sticks,  fastened  diagonally  across  the  radial  ones,  ren¬ 
der  it  evident  that  for  some  special  reason,  as  will  appear  later,  a 
slight  stiffening  had  been  required  at  each  side,  whereas  the  central 
portion  of  the  object  was  left  flexible  to  be  freely  curved  and  adapted 
to  varying  size  or  shape.  A  loose  piece  of  net,  woven  of  thinner 
threads,  now  “completely  torn,”  was  stretched  over  the  whole  back 
of  the  feather-piece.  We  are  not  told  how  this  was  fastened  to 
the  framework,  or  whether  any  remaining  traces  indicated  that  it 
had  ever  covered  and  concealed  the  central  elevation  and  its  super¬ 
imposed  sticks,  a  detail  that  would  have  furnished  important  evi¬ 
dence  as  to  whether  the  object  was  intended  to  be  viewed  on  both 
sides.  Herr  Aron  Hochstetter  found  remnants  of  feathers  on  this 
and  observed  that  between  the  two  nets  there  was  a  bag-like  open¬ 
ing  exactly  large  enough  to  admit  a  head.  He  concludes  that  it 
was  this  “  hood-like  aperture”  that  had  caused  the  feather-piece  to 
be  originally  (and  erroneously)  named  a  head-dress.  In  his  opin¬ 
ion,  it  had  served  as  a  receptacle  for  the  upper  end  of  a  flagstaff. 

Let  us  pause  here  to  consider  the  extreme  lightness  of  construc¬ 
tion  and  studied  flexibility  of  the  object,  evident  in  the  net  foun¬ 
dation  for  the  feather-work,  in  the  large,  rectilinear  pattern,  so 
laboriously  executed  with  diminutive  scales  and  in  the  thin,  radial 
sticks.  Contrast  these  properties,  so  appropriate  in  a  feather 


30 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


head-dress,  with  the  total  absence  of  traces,  either  of  concentric 
supports  or  of  a  solid  centre  of  stability,  both  imperatively  neces¬ 
sary  if  the  feather-piece  was  to  be  carried  permanently  on  a  staff, 
or  to  be  spread  as  a  fan-shaped  standard.  The  insufficiency  of  a 
piece  of  delicate  network,  to  hold  the  upper  end  of  the  stout  pole 
requisite,  is  quite  apparent,  even  supposing  the  semicircular  open¬ 
ing  at  the  base  of  the  feather-piece  had  been  additionally  faced 
with  two  plates  of  gold  as  was  surmised  by  Herr  von  Hochstetter. 

My  personal  observation  and  inference,  though  lacking  the  cer¬ 
tainty  of  the  closest  inspection,  but  corroborated  by  Herr  von  Hoch- 
stetter’s  illustration  and  the  total  absence  of  contrary  evidence  in 
his  work,  otherwise  so  full  of  minutiae,  seem  to  verify  the  impor¬ 
tant  fact  that  the  upper  more  lustrous  sides  of  all  the  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-nine  remaining  quetzal  feathers  forming  the  fringe 
are  turned  in  one  direction,  towards  the  front.  If  intended  to 
be  viewed  on  both  sides  so  thoughtfully  devised  an  object  would 
be  expected  to  exhibit  an  equal  number  of  the  upper  sides  of  the 
feathers  facing  each  side  with  traces  of  special  care  taken  to  con¬ 
ceal  the  supporting  sticks  among  them.  Inasmuch  as  the  presence 
of  such  an  arrangement  would  have  furnished  the  strongest  possi¬ 
ble  proof  in  favor  of  Herr  von  Ilochstetter’s  supposition,  its  ab¬ 
sence  must  be  regarded  as  a  weighty  disproof  of  it. 

Although  Herr  von  Hochstetter  states  that  his  attempts  at  trying 
on  the  feather-piece  as  a  head-dress  had  proved  unsuccessful,  it 
must  be  observed  that,  according  to  his  own  authority,  the  radial 
sticks  were  badly  broken  at  the  time,  and  as  the  network  lacked 
the  stiffness  required  in  order  to  make  the  object  stand  erect  the 
experiment  from  the  outset  had  no  chance  of  success. 

Having  made  a  stiff  cardboard  model  of  the  size  of  the  feather 
piece  and  fitted  it  to  the  head  in  the  fashion  exhibited  'by  fig.  1 
of  PI.  ii,  I  was  able  to  ascertain  that  it  assumed  at  once  the  exact 
appearance  and  contour  of  the  ancient  Mexican  head-dresses  ren¬ 
dered  familiar  to  us  by  numerous  representations.  The  central 
portion  of  the  curve  fitted  closely  around  the  forehead  causing  the 
perpendicular  front  of  the  head-dress  to  retain  the  width  of  the  face 
only.  The  broad  sides  stretched  flatly  towards  the  back  where 
their  inner  sides  met.  It  was  interesting  to  ascertain  that,  after  a 
few  jerky  motions  made  by  the  wearer  of  the  cardboard  model,  it 
became  dented  at  the  sides  in  the  precise  location  held  by  the  diag¬ 
onal  sticks  in  the  original  and  that  precisely  such  supports,  sim- 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


31 


ilarly  placed,  obviated  this  tendency  and  afforded  in  addition  a 
most  convenient  basis  of  attachment  for  means  of  fastening.  It 
was  found  that  a  pair  of  tapes,  attached  to  these  diagonal  sticks 
and  tied  across  the  back  of  the  head,  were  sufficient  to  hold  the 
model  in  place. 

As  the  reason  for  each  structural  detail  of  the  Vienna  master¬ 
piece  becomes  apparent,  we  realize  the  immense  amount  of  experi¬ 
ence  that  must  have  preceded  its  manufacture,  and  marvel  at  the 
foresight  and  care  with  which  this  is  executed. 

In  connection  with  the  above  experiment  we  observe  that  each  of 
the  two  military  head-dresses  from  the  Mendoza  collection  (see  PI. 
hi,  figs.  11  and  13)  is  provided  with  a  long  pair  of  long  pendants 
terminated  with  a  series  of  cross-sticks,  evidently  intended  to  be 
tied  to  the  back  (as  in  PI.  ii,  fig.  1)  for  the  additional  security  in 
warfare  for  a  precious  insignia  of  rank. 

Let  us  now  refer  to  the  single  front-view  in  the  Mendoza  collec¬ 
tion  of  a  large  diadem  made  of  gold  of  the  thickness  of  parchment, 
(see  PI.  i,  fig.  2).  We  cannot  fail  to  observe  its  analogous  deeply 
curved  opening,  meant  to  encircle  the  face,  and  the  central  eleva¬ 
tion  the  proportions  of  which  correspond  with  those  of  the  Vienna 
feather-piece.  Tezozomoc  {op.  cit .,  pp.  494,  544  and  569)  mentions 
that  such  frontlets  made  of  gold  paper  and  called  teocuitla  (gold) 
yxcua  (forehead)  amatl  (paper)  were  used  exclusively  by  the  su¬ 
preme  lords.  Evidently  these  frontlets,  described  as  being  studded 
with  precious  stones,  are  identical  with  the  well-known  “copilli”  or 
crown  in  the  shape  of  a  half  mitre  and  invariably  tied  at  the  back 
with  a  red  knot,  so  constantly  used  in  Aztec  picture-writings  as  an 
insignia  of  supreme  rank,  or  for  its  ideographic  value  -  tecuhtli  = 
lord  (see,  for  instance,  PI.  i,  fig.  11). 

In  figs.  1,  5,  6,  and  10,  PI.  iii,  we  have  ordinary  representations 
of  military  head-gears  as  given  in  the  native  lists  of  tributes.  In 
each  case  one-half  only  is  depicted — duplicate  it  and  the  shape  of 
the  Vienna  feather-piece  is  reproduced  and  a  similar  arrangement 
of  concentric  colored  bands,  surmounted  by  a  fringe  of  long,  nar¬ 
row  green  feathers,  is  displayed. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  numerous  examples  of  head-dresses  thus 
obtained,  those  with  central  elevations  figs.  3  and  8,  PI.  hi,  and 
lastly  the  Vienna  feather-piece  itself,  and  collate  them  with  the  ob¬ 
jects  painted  for  their  phonetic  values  behind  the  Bilimek  warrior 
and  above  the  figure  of  Apanecatl  in  the  Boturini  manuscripts. 

In  my  opinion  the  inevitable  and  final  conclusions  to  be  derived 


32 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


from  such  comparisons  is  the  conviction  that  the  object  is  in  each 
case  a  feather  head-dress,  and  that,  as  the  etymology  of  the  word 
teaches,  such  were  called  in  general,  Quetzal apanecayotl.  In  the 
Bilimek  painting,  I  believe  that  the  word  Quetzalapanecatl  is  thus 
conveyed  :  in  the  Boturini  manuscripts  Apanecatl  is  undoubtedly  ex¬ 
pressed  by  the  representation  of  such  a  head-dress  above  a  comple¬ 
mentary  sign,  of  the  significance  of  which  I  shall  treat  in  full  in  a 
brief  appendix  on  this  subject  at  the  end  of  this  essay.  Herewith, 
I  abandon  further  discussion  of  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  standard 
theory. 

Figures  2,  3, '4,  8  and  12,  PI.  hi,  are  faithful  representations  of 
the  appearance  of  these  feather  head-dresses  as  worn  when  viewed 
from  the  side.  The  card-board  model  indicated  their  fidelity, 
while  the  Vienna  feather  head-dress  proves  that  these  representa¬ 
tions  do  not  exaggerate,  as  has  been  stated  by  some  authors,1  the 
size  and  height  actually  worn. 

The  total  height  of  the  central  portion  of  the  Vienna  feather-piece, 
measured  from  the  edge  of  the  curved  opening  to  the  tips  of  the 
quetzal  feathers,  is  1  m.  05  cm.,  and  this  would  be  by  no  means  an 
unprecedented  height  for  an  aboriginal  head-dress.2  Yet  it  must 
be  distinctly  borne  in  mind  that  although  the  central  projecting  sup¬ 
port  caused  these  feathers  to  stand  erect  for  a  certain  distance 
above  the  artificial  base  of  attachment,  their  delicate  light  and  flex¬ 
ible  nature  would  cause  them  generally  to  assume  the  downward 
curve  that  they  naturally  possess,  as  anyone  can  certify  who  has 
seen  the  beautiful  bird  from  which  they  are  derived.3  It  may  well 
be  inferred  that  the  general  appearance  of  the  gorgeous  head-dress 


1  See,  for  instance,  Ad.  F  Bandelier  “On  the  Art  of  War,”  Reports  of  Peabody  Mu¬ 

seum,  vol.  II,  “The  head-dress  or  divisa  is  represented  on  nearly  every  Mexican  paint¬ 
ing  or  picture  leaf.  .  .  .  Its  size  is  generally  exaggerated,”  p.  Ill  (note  64). 

2  I  am  indebted  to  Herr  Prof.  Ad.  Bastian  for  kindly  informing  me  that  among  the 
highest  head-dresses  recorded  are  those  of  Central  Africa  where  Livingstone  speaks 
of  them  (among  the  Bashulupos)  as  attaining  a  yard  in  height.  The  following  quota¬ 
tion  from  “Wood’s  Natural  History  of  Man”  repeats  this  statement,  “The  hair  on  the 
top  of  the  head  is  drawn  and  plastered  together  in  a  circle  some  six  or  seven  inches  in 
diameter.  By  dint  of  careful  training,  and  plenty  of  grease  and  other  appliances,  it 
is  at  last  formed  into  a  cone  some  eight  or  ten  inches  in  height  and  slightly  leaning  for¬ 
ward.  In  some  cases  the  cone  is  of  wonderful  height,  the  head  man  of  a  Batoka  village 
wearing  one  wiiich  was  trained  into  a  long  spike  which  projected  a  full  yard  from  his 
head,  and  which  must  have  caused  him  considerable  inconvenience.  In  this  case  other 
materials  were  evidently  mixed  with  the  hair,  and  it  is  said  that  the  long  hair  of  vari¬ 
ous  animals  is  often  added,  so  as  to  mingle  with  the  real  growth,  and  aid  in  rearing  the 
edifice.” 

3  The  extreme  flexibility  of  these  feathers  was  noted  by  Padre Sahagun  who  says: 
“they  are  in  width  like  the  leaves  of  the  reed  mace  and  bend  as  soon  as  touched  by 
moving  air”  (book  xi,  chap.  u). 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


33 


when  its  wearer  was  in  motion  resembled  that  seen  in  fig.  4,  and 
that  the  brilliant  sweeping  fringe  fell  over  his  back  reaching  to  his 
waist  as  in  fig.  3,  one  of  several  similar  representations  from  Padre 
Duran’s  Atlas. 

Reverting  to  the  missing  “  beak  of  gold  ”  recorded  in  the  In¬ 
ventory  of  1596  as  having  occupied  a  place  “  on  the  forehead,”  I 
refer  to  figs.  14-19  for  examples  of  Ancient  Mexican  head  dresses 
provided  with  precisely  such  an  adjunct.  That  such  were  actually 
made  of  gold  is  amply  proven  by  the  following  quotations,  and  no 
more  convincing  confirmation  of  the  thorough  consistency  and  ac¬ 
curacy  of  the  description  and  appellation  preserved  in  the  Inven¬ 
tory  of  1596  could  be  adduced  than  this  of  their  perfect  agreement 
with  recorded  fact. 

Padre  Duran,  describing  the  image  or  idol  or  Huitzilopochtli,  as 
depicted  in  his  invaluable  Atlas  (see  PI.  in,  figs.  14  and  17),  re¬ 
lates  that,  “  the  (idol’s)  feather  head-dress  was  held  secure  by  a 
counterfeit  beak  made  of  brightly  burnished  gold,  vol.  n,  p.  81. 
It  (the  idol)  had  a  rich  feather-head-dress  fashioned  like  the  beak 
of  a  bird  which  bird  was  called  huitzitzilin  =  humming-bird  ” 
{op.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  80).  Clavigero  {op.  cit.,  p.  154)  describes  this 
same  idol  as  having  “on  his  head  a  beautiful  head-dress  in  the 
shape  of  a  bird’s  beak  .  .  .  Each  one  of  his  ornaments  and  insig¬ 
nia  had  its  special  meaning.”  Fig.  14  completes  these  descrip¬ 
tions  and  exhibits  the  counterfeit  head  of  a  bird  made  of  feather 
work  and  surmounted  by  a  large  tuft  of  quetzal  feathers,  with  an 
open  projecting  golden  beak  enclosing  the  head  and  face  of  its 
wearer. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  both  of  these  images 
were  painted  subsequently  to  the  Conquest. 

The  most  authentic  contemporary  representation  of  a  head-dress 
with  beak  that  we  possess,  and,  therefore,  the  most  valuable  one  in 
every  way,  is  that  carved  as  worn  by  the  chief  warrior  identified  as 
Tizoc  in  the  bas-relief  around  the  so-called  Sacrificial  Stone  in  the 
city  of  Mexico  (see  PI.  in,  fig.  7).  It  is  so  precisely  of  the  shape 
of  our  feather-piece  with  the  additions  of  a  prominent  beak  over 
the  forehead  and  under  the  chin,  of  a  circular  ear  ornament  and  of 
a  larger  circular  adornment,  that  we  may  well  let  it  determine  what 
kind  of  gold  beak  once  completed  the  Vienna  relic. 

Guided,  therefore,  by  the  weighty  authority  of  this  carved  ex¬ 
ample,  we  must  conclude  that  even  in  1596  the  Vienna  head-dress 

3 


P.  M.  VOL.  I 


34 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


had  already  been  despoiled  of  the  lower  part  of  the  gold  beak  that 
necessarily  belonged  to  it  and  also  of  the  circular  gold  ear  orna¬ 
ments  which,  as  we  shall  see  from  further  detailed  descriptions  of 
such  head-dresses,  probably  accompanied  it.1  Judging  from  the 
dainty  workmanship  visible  in  the  symmetrical  perforations  of  the 
gold  ornaments  remaining,  we  can  understand  how  the  upper  beak, 
probably  delicately  stitched  to  the  inside  edge  of  the  network, 
could  have  been  subsequently  removed  without  leaving  anj7  appar¬ 
ent  traces  of  its  former  existence,  so  that  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  Herr  von  Ilochstetter  found  it  impossible  to  ascertain  how 
the  gold  beak  had  been  attached. 

It  is  possible  for  us  to  form  an  idea  of  the  actual  appearance 
presented  b}7  the  head-gear  of  Huitzilopochtli,  as,  strangely 
enough,  its  resemblance  to  the  polished  helmets  or  casques  and  the 
peaked  visors  worn  by  the  Spaniards  gave  rise,  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure,  to  the  native,  superstitious  belief — so  fatal  in  its  consequences 
to  the  Mexicans — that  the  strange  newcomers  “must  be  connected 
with  them  in  some  way  as  they  wore  the  insignia  of  the  ancient 
idols.”  A  few  days  after  their  arrival  at  the  port  of  San  Juan  de 
Ulua,  Bernal  Diaz  relates  that  Teuhtlile,  a  native  chief,  visited 
them,  and  on  noticing  a  helmet,  half  of  which  was  gilt,  worn  by 
one  of  the  Spanish  soldiers,  requested  to  be  allowed  to  carrj7  it  to 
Montezuma.  For  it  was  of  a  well  known  form,  one  which  had 
been  handed  down  from  remote  ancestry  and  was  habitually  worn 
bj7  their  war  idol,  Huitzilopochtli.  The  helmet  was  given  him  at 
once,  and  it  is  evident  that  its  gilt  portion  gave  rise  to  special 
comment  amongst  those  assembled,  for  Cortes  found  occasion  to 
formulate  the  artful  request  “  that  the  helmet  should  be  returned 
to  him  later,  filled  with  nuggets  of  gold,  so  that  he  could  see 
whether  their  yellow  metal  was  like  that  found  in  the  rivers  of 
Spain.” 

“As  soon  as  Montezuma  saw  the  helmet  and  compared  it  with 
that  worn  by  Huitzilopochtli,  he  was  convinced  that  the  Spaniards 
were  of  the  same  lineage  as  himself  and  had  come  to  rule  over 
their  land”  (Bernal  Diaz,  op.  cit .,  p.  88).  This  conviction  led  to 
the  dispatch  of  an  envoy  with  costly  offerings  to  Cortes,  among 
which  figured  religious  insignia  and  military  equipments  of  all  kinds 


1  “  The  lords  used  in  war  a  sort  of  a  helmet  with  many  plumes  and  two  hollow  cir¬ 
cles  of  gold.”  Sahagun,  book  vm,  chap,  xii;  see  also  Torquemada,  lib.  xiv,  cap.  v, 
and  figs.  2  and  11,  pi.  n. 


OK  HEAD-DRESS? 


35 


and  the  Spanish  helmet  filled  with  native  gold,  “which  gift,”  as  Tor- 
quemada  states,  “cost  Montezuma  his  head,”1  as  it  revealed  to  the 
avaricious  Spaniards  the  existence  of  native  gold.  It  is,  however, 
curious  to  note  that  notwithstanding  their  conviction  that  the  Span¬ 
iards  wore  the  insignia  of  Huitzilopoctli,  all  historians  agree  in  re¬ 
cording  the  universal  native  belief  that  the  strange  newcomers  must 
be  Quetzalcoatl  and  his  followers.  In  searching  for  an  explana¬ 
tion  of  this  apparent  inconsistency,  which  has  been  hitherto  over¬ 
looked,  I  have  been  led  to  depart  from  the  established  views  held 
on  this  subject.  We  know  that  the  high  priests  or  living  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  ancestral  hero  Huitzilopochtli  bore  as  a  title  the 
name  of  Quetzalcoatl  (Sahagun  appendix,  book  hi,  chap,  ix),  and 
that  Cortes  from  the  first  announced  through  his  interpreters  that 
he  and  his  soldiers  were  but  envoys  and  vassals  of  the  greatest 
lord  on  earth,  the  emperor  Charles  V  (Bernal  Diaz,  p.-86).  Judg¬ 
ing  from  recorded  facts,  the  Mexicans  seem  to  have  reasoned  that, 
as  Cortes  acknowledged  a  superior  he  could  not  be  a  deity,  but  as 
he  and  his  followers  wore  the  familiar  insignia  of  their  god  he  and 
they  must  be  Quetzalcoas  or  high-priests,  the  living  representatives 
of  their  own  ancestral  hero  and  totemic  divinity  Huitzilopochtli 
from  whom  the  Spaniards  likewise  must  have  descended.  Such  a 
belief  would  explain  why  Montezuma,  according  to  Sahagun, 
charged  his  messengers  to  take  to  Cortes  “all  the  priestly  insignia 
proper  to  him  (todos  los  atavias  sacerdotales  que  a  el  convienien”) 
(book  12,  chap,  iv),  and  many  other  facts  which  cannot  be  cited 
without  transgressing  the  limits  of  the  present  subject. 

By  the  light  of  the  foregoing  testimony  the  gold  beak  once  at¬ 
tached  to  the  Vienna  head-dress  is  disclosed  as  the  emblem  of  Huit¬ 
zilopochtli,  and  the  general  shape  of  the  feather-piece  establishes 
its  identity  as  a  military  head-gear  like  those  painted  as  worn  ex¬ 
clusively  by  the  supreme  war-chief  in  the  eight  historical  battle- 
scenes  of  Padre  Duran’s  Atlas.  The  bas-relief  affords  consistent 
representation  of  a  single  exalted  personage  distinguished  by  a 
similar  tall  head-dress  from  fourteen  other  fully  equipped  warriors 
who  wear  in  common  a  form  of  coif  ornamented  vrith  a  bird’s  head 
(see  fig.  9,  PI.  m),  of  which  we  find  an  interesting  parallel  in  the 
Berlin  bas-relief  (Kingsborougli,  vol.  ii)  and  in  fig.  21  from  the  Fe- 
jervary  manuscripts. 

It  is  most  important  to  remember  that  the  supreme  chiefs  of  An- 


1  Mon.  Ind.,  I,  p.  390. 


36 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


cient  Mexico  were  the  living  representatives  of  ancestral  tribal 
hero-gods,  that  they  bore  the  name  of  one  at  festivals  and  wore 
their  insignia  in  warfare.  It  is  even  recorded  of  Axayacatl,  one 
of  Montezuma’s  predecessors,  that  he  “represented  in  life  our  god 
Huitzilopochtli”  (Duran,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  304).  Guided  by  this 
testimony  one  begins  to  comprehend  the  presence  of  the  emblem 
of  that  god  over  a  military  head-dress,  and  pauses  involuntarily  to 
reflect  upon  the  inspiring  effect  that  the  leadership,  in  battle,  of  the 
living  image  of  an  ancestral  hero  must  have  exerted  on  the  imag- 
ination  of  a  deeply  superstitious  people.  We  now  perceive  the 
reason  why  there  are  figured  in  the  lists  of  tributes  paid  to  Monte¬ 
zuma  the  high  priest  and  supreme  war-chief,  head-dresses  of  the 
above  shape  termed,  “pieces  of  armour”  (piezas  de  armas),  and  we 
find  that  this  shape  was  that  actually  worn  by  the  high  priest  by 
reference  to  fig.  8,  PI.  hi,  from  Padre  Duran’s  Atlas.  The  old  In¬ 
dian  woman  who  possessed  the  original  picture  told  Padre  Duran 
that  “it  was  an  image  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  that  he  used  to  wear  the 
feather  crown,  shown  in  the  painting,  on  celebrating  the  festivals, 
just  as  a  bishop  puts  on  his  mitre  when  he  says  mass  ”  (vol.  n,  p. 
77). 

The  Vienna  feather-piece  yields  moreover  remarkable  evidence 
through  its  most  striking  feature,  the  broad  blue  band  edged  with 
scarlet;  for  this  combination  of  colors  is  one  which  is  invariably 
found  in  the  copilli  or  diadem  and  in  the  raiment  worn  by  the  su¬ 
preme  lord  of  Mexico.  In  the  Mendoza  collection,  page  70,  Mon¬ 
tezuma  is  depicted  as  clothed  entirely  in  blue,  with  the  conventional 
blue  diadem  tied  with  a  red  knot.  In  Duran’s  Atlas  he  and  his 
predecessors  are  distinguished  by  blue  garments  edged  with  scarlet 
designs  and  by  blue  copilli  with  the  usual  scarlet  knot,  and,  in 
some  notable  examples,  a  narrow  edging  of  red.  Written  author¬ 
ity  and  the  Nahuatl  special  names  for  the  insignia  indicative  of 
supreme  authority  are  in  accordance  with  pictorial  testimony  and 
prove  their  distinctive  color  to  have  been  that  of  the  turquoise1  = 


1  Exceptional  instances  occur  in  which  the  insignia  of  authority  are  painted  and  re¬ 
corded  as  green  (Tezozomoc,  p.  629).  See  our  fig.  10  of  PI.  I.  But  it  is  a  curious  fact, 
and  one  that  finds  a  parallel  in  the  languages  of  other  American  tribes  (that  of  the 
Omahas  for  instance)  and  of  other  primitive  races— that  in  Nahuatl  no  verbal  distinc¬ 
tion  is  made  between  the  colors  blue  and  green.  One  was  evidently  deemed  a  shade 
of  the  other  color — a  conception  that  we  can  perhaps  understand  when  we  consider 
how  frequently,  as  in  describing  marine  and  alpine  scenery,  we  are  forced  to  resort  to 
the  composite  terms  blue-gi-een  and  greenish-blue  which  proves  our  unconscious  but 
analogous  recognition  of  an  indissoluble  connection  between  these  colors.  The  list  an- 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


37 


xiuitl.  On  being  elected  to  supreme  power  Tizoc,  Ahuizotl  and 
Montezuma  were  in  turn  invested,  according  to  Tezozomoc,  with 
the  royal  cloak  made  of  blue  network  called  Xiuhayatl,  with  a 
blue  loin-cloth  =  maxtlatl,  and  blue  sandals  =  xiuhcactli,  and  the 
diadem  inlaid  with  turquoises  =  xiuhuitzolli.  When  the  corpse  of 
Tizoc  was  prepared  for  cremation  it  was  first  laved  with  blue  water 
and  covered  with  a  blue  vestment.  His  face  and  those  of  the  sing¬ 
ers  in  attendance  during  the  ceremony  were  painted  and  marked 
with  blue  (op.  cit.,  pp.  438,  455,  460,  573).  Clavigero  mentions, 
moreover,  a  white  and  blue  cloak,  called  xuihtilmatli,  worn  exclu¬ 
sively  by  the  “kings  of  Tenochtitlan,”  in  the  interior  of  their  pal¬ 
aces  (op.  cit.,  p.  203).  Numerous  examples  in  the  Atlas  Duran 
show  this  as  edged  also  with  a  scarlet  pattern. 

The  explanatory  reason  of  the  privileged  use  of  blue  raiment  by 
Montezuma  and  his  predecessors  lies  close  at  hand  and  is  inti¬ 
mately  connected  with  the  foregone  conclusions.  According  to  the 
well  known  myth,  Huitzilopochtli  came  to  the  world  with  his  limbs 
painted  blue,  carrying  a  blue  shield  and  a  blue  arrow  in  his  hand 
(Sahagun,  book  iii,  chap.  i).  This,  and  a  number  of  further  allied 
details,  the  enumeration  of  which  I  will  spare  the  reader,  attest 
the  consecration  of  azure  to  that  deity  and  thus  explain  its  constant 
employment  in  articles  used  in  ceremonial  observances  in  his  honor. 

In  connection  with  Montezuma’s  privileges  as  high  priest,  the 
living  image  of  the  god,  it  is  important  to  compare  on  the  one  hand 
the  express  statement  that  “  the  teoxiuitl  was  called  the  turquoise 
of  the  gods  and  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  possess  and  use  it  but 
that  it  had  always  to  be  offered  to  the  gods  ”  (Sahagun,  book  xi, 
ch.  viii),  with  the  numerous  records  that  Montezuma  habitually 
wore  a  turquoise  necklace  and  a  diadem  inlaid  with  the  same  pre¬ 
cious  stones  (Sahagun,  book  viii,  chap.  xii). 

Although  I  must  defer  offering  a  full  and  comprehensive  state- 

nexed  affords  us  an  interesting  opportunity  of  taking  a  glimpse  of  the  world  of  color 
from  an  Aztec  point  of  view. 

Xiuitl  =  turquoise,  grass,  leaf  (by  extension  a  year). 

Xiuhtie,  ndj.,  =blue,  color  of  turquoise. 

Xiuhcaltic  =  j  verdure. 

Xiuhyotia  ]  to  cover  itself  with  green,  as  a  field  or  tree. 

Matlalli,  noun,  Matlatic,  adj .  =  dark  green  or  very  pure  azui-e. 

Xoxouhqui  ~  green,  light  blue. 

Texittle,  Texotli  =  blue,  azure. 

Texoxoctli  =  a  green  stone. 

Ilhuitl  =  sky  (a  day  and  a  feast). 

Ilhuicaatl  =  ocean  =  literally  sky  water. 


38 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


ment  of  my  belief  respecting  Montezuma’s  true  position  in  the  much 
misunderstood  social  organization  of  Ancient  Mexico,1 1  consider 
the  foregoing  facts  sufficient  to  establish  that  the  Vienna  head¬ 
dress,  on  account  of  its  shape,  coloring  and  attributes,  could  have 
been  fitly  worn  by  no  other  person  but  Montezuma  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest.  As  living  representative  of  the  god  he  alone  could 
assume  the  emblem  of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  gold  beak.  As  supreme 
chief  he  had  the  sole  privilege  of  wearing  a  shape  the  most  striking 
feature  of  which,  be  it  observed,  is  a  broad  band  of  blue  edged  with 
a  high  middle  piece,  which  simulates,  when  worn,  the  familiar  royal 
copilli,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  comparison  of  fig.  15  on  PI.  m  with 
the  representation,  on  PI.  i,  of  the  valuable  relic.  Before  endeav¬ 
oring  to  trace,  in  conclusion,  by  the  light  of  certain  historical  data, 
the  transfer  of  the  insignia  from  Mexico  to  Castle  Ambras,  a  few 
words  may  be  said  about  the  feathers  employed  in  its  manufacture. 

Aided  by  the  Custos  of  the  Imperial  Vienna  Zoological  Museum, 
Herr  von  Pelzeln,  Professor  von  Hochstetter  sought,  by  compari¬ 
son  with  the  feathers  of  birds  inhabiting  the  tropical  region  of 
America,  to  identify  the  species  which  supplied  the  material  for  the 
blue  and  scarlet  bands.2  This  was  avowedly  a  difficult  undertak¬ 
ing  as  very  numerous  species  of  tropical  birds  of  all  sizes  exhibit 
in  various  parts  of  their  bodies  feathers  of  these  colors  scarcely 
distinguishable  from  each  other  b}r  the  most  practised  ornitholo¬ 
gist.  Moreover  the  antiquity  of  the  feather-piece  and  the  indeter¬ 
minable  changes  time  may  have  wrought  in  it,  detract  from  the 
certainty  of  identifications  necessarily  based  upon  most  delicate 
differentiations  of  structure  and  color. 

To  arrive,  in  spite  of  these  difficulties,  at  approximate  identifica¬ 
tions  it  seemed  to  me  important  to  narrow  the  field  of  ornithological 
inquiry  to  the  smallest  possible  limits  and  to  allow  these  to  be  fixed 
by  the  high  authority  of  Padre  Sahagun,  who  devotes  a  whole 
chapter  to  the  description  of  the  birds  most  highly  esteemed  by  the 
Aztecs  on  account  of  the  beautiful  feathers  they  yielded  for  the 
manufacture  of  feather-work.  Precious  above  all  were  the  tail-feath- 

1 1  would  mention  here,  however,  my  high  appreciation  and  hearty  endorsement  of 
the  general  outlines  of  the  Aztec  civilization  traced  by  Lewis  H.  Morgan  and  Ad. 
F.  Bandelier,  in  their  valuable  works. 

2  “  Originally  the  blue  bands  were  composed  of  feathers  from  the  Cotinga  maynana 
(Linn.),  a  bird  which  belongs  to  the  family  of  the  Chatterers  and  lives  in  South  Amer¬ 
ican  virgin  forests  (Upper  Amazon),”  op.  cit.,  p.  11.  “  The  best  match  to  the  feathers 

of  the  scarlet  band  seemed  to  us  those  of  the  Hcematoderus  militaris  (Lath.)  from 
Guiana  and  Northern  Brazil”  ( op .  et  loc.  cit.). 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


39 


ers  of  the  Quetzaltototl ;  indeed  their  name  Quetzalli,  employed  in 
a  figurative  sense,  came  to  signify  all  that  was  precious  =  treasure, 
jewel,  father,  mother,  beloved  child,  lord,  ruler.  Among  the  an¬ 
nual  tributes  paid  to  Montezuma  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  present 
state  of  Oaxaca,  Chiapas,  on  the  confines  of  Guatemala,  we  find 
5,680  bunches  (manojos)  of  quetzal  tail-feathers  pictorially  re¬ 
corded,  an  enormous  tribute  when  we  consider  that  two  such  feath¬ 
ers  represent  a  single  bird.  It  is  known,  however,  that  the  An¬ 
cient  Mexicans  bestowed  the  greatest  care  on  the  preservation  of 
the  lives  of  all  birds  of  precious  plumage.  They  were  caught  and 
plucked  and  freed  at  certain  seasons.  The  extensive  aviary  in  Mon¬ 
tezuma’s  “palace”  was  constantly  supplied  with  living  specimens. 
A  number  of  Indians,  men  and  women,  administered  daily  to  each 
want  and  bestowed  special  care  on  the  raising  of  young  broods 
(Bernal  Diaz,  loc.  cit.,  p.  240).  The  manufacture  of  feather-work 
was  carried  on  in  the  same  building  and  it  is  probably  within  its 
walls  that  the  Vienna  feather-piece  was  created.  The  importance 
attached  to  the  quality  of  the  quetzal  feathers  supplied  is  further 
evident  by  the  recorded  stipulation  made  by  the  Aztecs  who  had 
conquered  the  Huastecans,  that  the  feathers  they  were  to  pay  hence¬ 
forth  in  tribute  were  to  measure  an  arm’s  length  each. 

Next  in  value  to  the  quetzal  ranked  the  Tlauhquechol,1  the  Pla- 
talea  aj-aja ,  or  roseate  spoonbill,  deemed  of  such  consequence  that 
its  annual  migration  from  Florida  and  regular  reappearance  tow¬ 
ards  the  months  of  October  and  November  caused  a  month  in  the 
Aztec  Calendar  to  be  named  from  it  and  this  season  to  be  specially 
dedicated  to  the  chase.  This  bird  is  remarkable  for  its  beautiful 
rose  colored  or  bright  red  plumage  and  the  silky  tuft  on  the  lower 
forepart  of  its  neck.  It  is  interesting  to  place  side  by  side  two 
records  based  on  close  observation  of  the  habits  of  this  bird ;  one 
the  belief  of  a  semi-civilized  people,  the  other  the  statement  of  a 
nineteenth  century  naturalist.  “They  (the  Indians)  say  that  the 
tlauhquechol  is  the  prince  of  the  herons  and  that  wheresoever  the 
herons  see  such  a  one,  they  flock  about  it.”  (Sahagun,  book  xi, 
chap.  ii).  “This  beautiful  bird  (the  roseate  spoonbill)  is  usually 

•From  Tlauitl  =  red  ochre.  Quechtli  =  neck,  shoulders.  This  bird  was  also  called 
the  Teoquechol  or  Tlapalaztatl  =  red  heron  (Tezozomoc,  p.  434).  The  “kind  of  a  bird, 
with  long  legs  and  red  body,  wings  and  tail”  seen  by  Bernal  Diaz  in  the  large  pond  of 
fresh  water  provided  in  Montezuma’s  aviary  for  aquatic  birds,  was  evidently  the  Tlauh¬ 
quechol,  although  he  says  that  “he  did  not  know  its  name’’  (op.  et  loc.  cit.). 


40 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


foncl  of  the  company  of  our  different  herons,  whose  keen  sight  and 
vigilance  are  useful  to  it  in  apprizing  it  of  danger  and  allowing  it 
to  take  flight  in  due  time”  (J.  J.  Audubon,  “The  birds  of  Amer¬ 
ica,”  vol.  vi,  p.  73,  New  York,  1856). 

In  Tezozomoc  (p.  495)  this  bird  is  mentioned  as  specially  con¬ 
secrated  to  Huitzilopoclitli.  Montezuma  is  described  by  the  same 
writer  as  going  to  battle  with  a  device  made  of  feathers,  surmounted 
by  a  Tlauhquechol,  which  looked  as  though  it  were  flying  (pp.  584 
and  599).  He  wore  also  another  device  called  tlauhquecholtzontli 
or  “hair  of  tlauhquechol  feathers”  which  hung  down  the  back  and 
probably  resembled  fig.  20,  PI.  hi.  Sahagun  describes  a  helmet, 
used  by  the  lords  only  in  war,  made  of  the  scarlet  feathers  of  the 
tlauhquechol,  around  which  was  a  crown  of  rich  feathers.  Above 
these  rose  a  bunch  of  beautiful  quetzal  feathers  like  plumes  (book 
viii,  chap.  xii). 

In  the  Mexican  calendar  the  month  Quecliolli  is  either  desig¬ 
nated  by  a  representation  of  this  bird  (Atlas  Orozco  Berra,  pi. 
xvm),  or  by  an  ornament,  the  use  of  which  was  restricted  to  Monte¬ 
zuma  and  his  predecessors,  made  of  the  long  silky  recurved  feathers 
from  the  neck-tuft  of  the  spoonbill.1  Ilerr  Ilofrath  Dr.  A.  B.  Meyer, 
Director  of  the  Royal  Zoological  and  Ethnographical  Museum  at 
Dresden,  to  whom  I  am  obliged  for  the  active  interest  taken  in  the 
present  investigation  and  the  facilities  for  study  afforded  me,  iden¬ 
tified  the  Tlauhquechol  as  the  Platalea  agaja  from  the  fragmentary 
descriptions  I  collected  from  the  writings  of  old  Spanish  authors2 
and  kindly  furnished  me  with  feathers  for  comparative  purposes 
from  a  stuffed  specimen  in  the  Museum.  These  answered  exactly  to 
the  description  given  by  Herr  von  Hochstetter  of  the  feathers  com- 


1  Gemelli  Cnvreri,  Voyage  autour  du  Monde  Paris,  1710,  p.  6S,  plate. 

2  In  addition  to  the  above  quotations  see  Sahagun  trad.  Simeon,  p.  71,  note,  and  p. 
208.  Torquemada,  vol.  ii,  pp.  28,  299.  Clavigero,  pp.  31, 1S5.  I  was  led  to  collect  these 
passages  through  Senor  Antonio  Penafiel’s  statement  in  his  recent  valuable  contribu¬ 
tion  (Nombres  Geograficos  de  Mexico,  Mexico,  1S85,  on  p.  167)  that  “  according  to  the 
late  Orozco  y  Berra,  the  quechoili  was  the  “  madrugador  ”  consequently  the  Tirannus 
vociferans Wishing  to  obtain  the  English  name  of  the  Tirannus  and  further  details, 
I  applied  to  Herr  Hofrath  Dr.  Meyer  who  informed  me  that  no  red  feathers  existed  in 
the  plumage  of  this  bird.  On  referring  by  chance  subsequently  to  Orozco  y  Berra’s 
Historia  Antigua  de  Mexico.  Mexico,  1880,  vol.  ii,  pp.  39  and  85,  and  then  to  his  ensayo 
de  Descifracion,  Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  Mexico,  1S77,  tomo  i,  pp.  297  and  326, 
I  was  much  surprised  to  find  not  only  no  mention  whatever  of  the  “  madrugador  ”  but 
the  following  quotation  by  the  late  Orosco  y  Berra  from  an  article  written  by  Senor 
Don  Jesus  Sanchez,  the  present  Director  of  the  Museo  Nacional,  in  “  La  Naturaleza 
tom.  ii,  p.  250.  “The  Tlauhquechol  of  the  Aztecs  was  the  rose  colored  spoonbill 
( Platalea  agaja  Linn.).” 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


41 


posing  the  scarlet  band  of  the  Vienna  head-dress,  being  extremely 
fine  with  disunited  barbs  of  blood  red  color  and  light  ground. 
Herr  Custos  Heger  obligingly  compared  these  examples  with  the 
feathers  of  the  Vienna  relic  and  communicated  to  me  that  “  al¬ 
though  there  was  a  slight  difference  in  tint  the  general  structure  of 
the  feathers  lead  to  the  inference  of  their  probable  identity.”  If 
confirmed  by  the  microscope  this  identification  will  commend  it¬ 
self  by  its  perfect  accordance  with  the  foregoing  evidence  as  to  the 
privileged  use  of  Tlauhquechol  plumage  by  Huitzilopochtli  and 
Montezuma. 

Next  in  value  to  this  beautiful  bird  Padre  Sahagun  ranks  the 
xiuhquechol,  a  small  bird  with  green  plumage,  like  grass,  and  blue 
wings  and  tail.  The  word  xiuitl,  in  its  name,  may  therefore  sig¬ 
nify  both  turquoise  and  grass.  This  bird  was  supplied  in  trib¬ 
ute  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  along  the  gulf  of  Tehuantepec 
as  well  as  the  equally  prized  xiulitototl  =  turquoise  bird,  of  the  size 
of  a  jay  with  a  brown  breast  and  blue  back  and  light  blue  wings. 
The  tail-feathers  are  variegated  blue,  black  and  green.  It  was  im¬ 
possible  to  base  an  opinion  as  to  the  species  of  these  birds  on  the 
meagre  descriptions  available,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  find  any 
published  identifications  in  the  works  on  Mexico  at  hand. 

Two  hundred  skins  of  the  xiuhtototl  were  paid  in  tribute  every 
eighty  days  by  the  inhabitants  of  Xoconochco  in  the  present  state 
of  Chiapas,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  They  also  supplied,  at  the  same 
time,  eight  hundred  bunches  of  blue  feathers  from  the  same  bird 
(Cordillera,  Cortes,  ed.  Cumplido).  In  the  text  to  Plate  47  of  the 
Mendoza  Collection  eight  thousand  handfuls  of  precious  turquoise 
blue  feathers  are  recorded  as  part  of  the  annual  tribute  sent  from 
twenty-two  localities  in  the  Tierra  Caliente.  As  the  same  tribute 
list  also  shows  us,  such  small  feathers  were  transported  in  bags  of 
fine  matting  made  of  palm.  The  plumage  of  the  xiuhtototl  is  also 
designated  as  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Huitzilopochtli  (Tezo- 
zomo,  495),  and  shields  decorated  with  feather- work  made  of  xiuhto¬ 
totl  plumage  are  enumerated  among  the  insignia  used  by  the  lords 
in  war  (Sahagun,  book  vm,  chap.  xn).  Herr  von  Hochstetter  com¬ 
ments  upon  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  feathers  which  originally 
composed  the  turquoise  blue  band  of  the  Vienna  relic,  a  quality 
in  accordance  with  the  diminutive  size  of  the  xiuhtototl  and  the 
high  value  placed  on  it  by  the  Mexican  artisans. 

We  will  now  revert  to  the  priceless  gifts  sent  by  Montezuma  to 


42 


MEXICAN  STANDAKD 


Cortes  in  the  spring  of  1519,  thechoicest  of  which  were  subsequently 
set  aside  for  Charles  V  and  intrusted  to  Alonso  Hernandez  Puer- 
tocarrero  and  Francisco  de  Montejo,  who  sailed  from  San  Juan 
Ulna  for  Spain  on  the  26th  of  July,  1519,  according  to  Bernal  Diaz  ; 
on  the  16th,  according  to  Cortes  in  his  “Segunda  Carta.”  After  un¬ 
dergoing  seizure  and  detention  the  presents  and  the  letters  announc¬ 
ing  the  discovery  and  addition  of  a  strange,  new  and  rich  country 
to  the  Crown  of  Spain  were  presented  to  the  young  Emperor  at 
Tordesillas  in  the  beginning  of  March,  1520,  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  Coruna  to  embark  for  Flanders.  In  these  days  it  seems 
strange  to  find  no  reference  in  the  autobiographical  commentaries1 
of  Charles  V,  in  his  record  of  the  events  of  this  and  the  following 
years,  to  what  has  been  termed  by  Sandoval  “one  of  the  happiest 
pieces  of  intelligence  ever  received  by  the  Prince.”2  It  has  been 
reasonably  conjectured  that  Charles  V  took  the  costty  gifts  with 
him  to  Flanders  where  he  was  expected  by  his  brother,  the  Infante 
Ferdinand,  and  his  aunt  Margaret  of  Austria  Regent  of  the  Neth¬ 
erlands,  both  perhaps  eager  to  view  the  rumored  marvels  from  the 
new  world.  Some  were  doubtless  placed  as  trophies  in  the  Arsenal 
de  la  Cour  of  the  palace  at  Brussels  ;  for  as  late  as  1803  among 
the  trophies  and  historical  armor  of  the  Brussels  collection  are  enu¬ 
merated  “complete  suits  of  armour  of  Montezuma,  his  two  sons 
and  prime  minister”  sent  by  Cortes  to  Charles  V.  As  Senor  Ortega 
justly  remarks,  the  presence  in  Flanders  of  these  Mexican  trophies 
dating  from  the  time  of  the  Conquest  can  be  traced  back  with  some 
certainty  to  this  vo}rage  of  Charles  V  as  the  gifts  afterwards  sent 
by  Cortes  in  1522  were  stolen,  and  those  brought  by  Diego  de  Soto 
in  1524  doubtless  remained  in  Spain  as  they  reached  the  Emperor 
while  he  was  making  a  stay  in  that  country  prolonged  until  1529.3 
The  first  gifts  which  reached  Charles  V  consisted  of  those  sent  to 
Cortes  shortly  after  his  landing  in  Mexico,  by  Montezuma.  Saha- 
gun  hands  down  a  description  stating  that  foremost  among  these 
were  the  priestly  vestments  of  Quetzalcoatl  “part  of  which  consist¬ 
ed  of  a  large  tall  crown  full  of  precious,  long,  very  beautiful  feath¬ 
ers”  (book  xn,  chap.  iv).  Bernal  Diaz  records  “crests  of  plumage 
some  with  very  rich  green  feathers,  and  gold  and  silver”  (p.  89). 

1  Charles  V  Commentaires.  Kervyn  de  Lettenhove,  Bruxelles,  1S62. 

2  Sandoval.  Vida  y  hechos  del  Emperador  Carlos  V.  Barcelona,  1625,  lib.  iv. 

s  The  above  data  are  from  Senor  A.  Nunez  Ortega’s  interesting  article  entitled 
“Apuntes  historicos  sobre  la  rodela  Azteca  en  el  Museo  Nacioual” — Anales  del 
Museo  Nacioual,  Mexico,  tomo  ill,  p.  281. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


43 


Las  Casas,  who  saw  the  presents  at  the  same  time  the  Emperor  did 
in  Spain,  describes  “certain  large  feather  crests  made  of  various 
kinds  of  feathers  and  colours,  finished  with  gold  work,”  also  “cer¬ 
tain  armor  (armaduras),1  which  they  must  have  used  in  their  wars, 
with  green  and  yellow  feathers”  (Historia  de  las  Indias,  Madrid, 
1876,  vol.  ii,  p.  485)  ;  also  Torquemada  (Monarquia  Indiana,  vol. 
i,  p.  389).  Referring  to  the  Memoria  already  quoted  from,  we  find 
“  a  large  piece  of  variegated  feather-work  which  is  to  be  worn  on 
the  head.  Around  it  are  sixty-eight  small  pieces  of  gold  each  of 
which  is  about  the  size  of  a  medio  quarto.  Lower  down  than  these 
there  are  twenty  small  towers  of  gold.”2 

It  may  be  due  only  to  a  striking  coincidence  that,  on  comparing 
this  description  with  the  Vienna  relic,  as  figured  in  Herr  von  Hoch- 
stetter’s  illustration,  we  count  on  the  upper  row  of  gold  discs  on 
the  outer  white  band  (including  those  on  the  same  band  across  the 
middle  piece)  exactly  sixty-eight  of  these  and  below,  on  the  blue 
band,  just  twenty  projections,  which  can  scarcely  be  more  aptly 
described  than  as  small  towers.  To  infer  from  the  foregoing  data 
the  probable  identity  of  the  Vienna  feather-piece  with  the  large 
head-dress  described  as  if  of  special  interest  and  value,  would  be 
neither  difficult  nor  unreasonable.  At  the  same  time  it  is  well  to 
note  that  there  is  no  mention  in  the  Memoria  of  the  seemingly 
noteworthy  feature,  the  gold  beak,  and  that  no  secure  evidence  is 
afforded  by  the  number  of  gold  discs  actually  present  on  the  Vienna 
relic. 

Our  illustration  displays  the  very  small  number  of  original  discs 
found  by  Herr  von  Hochstetter  and  adopted  as  a  guide  for  the 
restoration  of  missing  ones,  and  Herr  Heger’s  recent  investigation 
increases  the  number  of  gold  discs  in  the  outer  row  to  sixty-nine. 
The  only  method  of  reconciling  these  objections  would  be  to  im¬ 
agine  that  possibly  there  may  have  been  originally  three  rows  each 
composed  of  sixty-eight  discs,  for  we  have  no  means  of  judging  how 
completely  the  objects  were  described  merely  for  registrative  pur- 

1  In  a  contemporary  Spanish  document  I  find  the  term  “armaduras  de  cabeza”  used 
to  describe  the  helmets  with  feather  crests  worn  by  knights  in  Spain.  Coleccion  de  doc- 
umentos  ineditos,  vol.  I,  p.  158. 

2“XJna  pieza  grande  deplumajes  de  colores  que  se  pone  (que  se  ponen)  en  la  cabeza- 
en  que  hay  a  la  redonda  de  ella  (a  la  redonda  de  el)  sesenta  y  ocho(setenta  y  ocho)  pie, 
zas  pequefias  de  oro,  que  sera  cada  una  (que  sera  cada  una  tan  grande)  como  medio 
cuarto,  y  debajo  de  ellos  veinte  torrecitas  de  oro  (y  mas  bajo  de  ellas  vieute  torrecitas 
de  oro.)  Coleccion  de  Documentos  ineditos  para  la  historia  de  Espafia,  tomo  I,  paja 
464. 


44 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


poses  in  the  Memoria.  The  gold  beak  is  mentioned  last  in  the 
Arnbras  Inventory  of  1596,  therefore  it  seems  to  have  been  con¬ 
sidered  only  a  secondary  feature. 

From  the  foregoing  data  respecting  the  insignia  worn  by  Quetz- 
alcoatl,  the  high  priest  of  Huitzilopochtli,  we  know  that  the  gold 
beak  must  have  formed  part  of  the  large  tall  crown  “full  of  precious 
long  feathers”  sent  to  Cortes  by  Montezuma. 

On  account  of  the  mention  of  “  little  towers”  in  the  Memoria  I 
have  endeavored  to  ascertain,  but  without  success,  whether  the  ar¬ 
chitectonic  design  on  the  Vienna  feather-piece  could  have  been  in¬ 
tended  b}r  its  native  makers  to  represent  a  series  of  towers,  and 
whether,  like  the  arrows  on  the  head-dress  behind  the  Bilimek 
warrior,  these  might  have  some  symbolic  connection  or  meaning. 
Although  the  high  white  towers  of  Mexican  architecture  are  re¬ 
peatedly  mentioned  by  the  Conquerors,  I  have  found  no  detailed 
description  or  representation  of  them  and  therefore  present  for 
comparison  only  a  small  native  drawing  of  a  house  (  PI.  i,  fig.  h). 
If  we  had  means  of  ascertaining  whether  the  writers  of  the  Memo¬ 
ria  chose  the  expression  “  little  towers  ”  merely  as  an  apt  term  of 
comparison,  as  I  did  in  describing  what  I  conclude  to  be  merely 
a  symmetrical  and  meaningless  design,  then  an  interesting  cer¬ 
tainty  might  be  obtained.  In  the  absence  of  this  knowledge  we 
can  merely  point  to  a  possible  identity  supported  by  a  mass  of 
corroborative  evidence.1 

There  is  no  difficulty  presented  in  accounting  for  the  transfer  of 
the  curious  head-dress  from  the  possession  of  Charles  V  to  that  of 
his  nephew  the  Archduke  Ferdinand  of  Tyrol ;  for  the  latter’s  father 
Ferdinand,  who  became  Emperor  of  Germany  after  the  abdication 
of  Charles  V  in  1858,  was  a  lover  of  all  that  was  rare  and  curious 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Austrian  Court  collections.2  It  is 
but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Ferdinand,  the  brother  whom 


1  In  a  catalogue  (bearing  no  date)  of  the  presents  sent  by  Cortds  and  recorded  as  hav¬ 
ing  been  retained  in  the  Azores  and  lost,  we  find  described  “  a  helmet  with  an  eagle’s 
beak  made  of  gold,  worked  with  various  desigus  with  gold  work.  The  ground  is  of 
blue  feathers  and  the  rest  is  of  long  green  feathers  ”  (Coleccion  de  documentos  in^di- 
tos,  tomo  xn,  p.  347).  We  find  that  no  better  description  of  Huitzilopochtli’s  symbolic 
head-gear  and  the  Vienna  relic  could  be  written  than  this,  and  are  even  led  to  surmise 
that  these  presents  did  eventually  reach  their  destination.  These  gifts  presumably  con¬ 
sisted  of  those  given  to  Cortes  by  Montezuma  on  his  arrival  at  the  capital.  In  Tezozo- 
moc  we  find  the  custom  recorded  of  the  chiefs  presenting  honored  guests  with  their 
own  garments  and  insignia. 

2  See  F.  B.  von  Bucholtz,  Ferdinand  der  I,  Wien  22,  1838,  vol.  viii,  pp.  695  and  750. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


45 


Charles  V  used  to  term  “  his  other  self,”  should  have  shared  the 
trophies  from  the  New  World,  and  that  at  his  demise  in  1564  and 
subsequent  division  of  his  possessions  between  his  three  sons,  some 
of  them  should  have  been  claimed  by  that  ardent  lover  of  curiosi¬ 
ties,  the  Archduke  Ferdinand. 

Reverting  once  more  to  Dr.  Hirn’s  valuable  biographical  work, 
we  may  quote  a  few  passages  illustrating  the  extent  of  the  system¬ 
atic  and  persevering  efforts  made  by  the  Imperial  connoisseur  to 
obtain  additions  to  his  collections.1  “  The  nucleus  of  his  magnif¬ 
icent  collection  consisted  of  his  own  numerous  suits  of  armor  and 
those  of  the  members  of  his  family.  It  was  naturally  easy  for  him 
to  obtain  the  armour  formerly  belonging  to  Sigismund  and  to  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  I  and  Ferdinand  I.  True  to  the  aim  of  the 
collection  he  attempted  to  procure  a  certain  coat  of  mail  which  had 
been  worn  by  his  uncle  Charles  Y,  but  was  then  in  the  possession 
of  Philip  II.  Ferdinand  directed  his  minister  Khevenhuller  in 
Madrid  to  endeavour  to  procure  it,  but  Philip  was  loth  to  part 
with  the  precious  souvenir  and  thus  the  matter  ended.” 

The  Archduke’s  solicitations  at  the  courts  of  Italy  (Floi’ence, 
Ferrara,  Mantua  and  Turin)  were  most  successful.  The  Imperial 
ambassador  in  Venice  took  special  pains  to  obtain  additions  for  the 
Ambras  Armory.  A  certain  Anger  Busbeeq  assembled  a  number 
of  trophies  in  France  and  sent  them  to  Tyrol  in  1585.  Additions 
came  from  the  Netherlands  and  Bavaria,  Hungary  and  Turkey. 
“In  this  manner  the  celebrated  collection  grew.  The  longing  eyes 
of  its  founder  looked  in  every  direction  but  he  could  not  of  course 
obtain  all  he  strove  for.” 

But  what  was  within  the  Archduke’s  reach,  and  of  twofold  inter¬ 
est  to  him  by  reason  of  family  connection,  could  well  have  been  a 
complete  suit  of  Mexican  armor  chosen  from  among  the  presents 
sent  by  Cortes  to  Charles  V.  And  considering  his  special  desire 
to  possess  none  but  armor  certified  as  having  belonged  to  cele¬ 
brated  historical  personages,  it  is  in  his  collection  we  may  seek 
for  the  most  carefully  chosen  and  authentic  personal  relics  of 
Montezuma. 

The  Inventory  of  1596  proves  that  in  this  respect  the  Imperial 
collector  did  not  belie  his  reputation  or  neglect  his  rare  opportuni¬ 
ties  ;  for  in  it  there  are  enumerated,  in  addition  to  the  head-dress 


1  Op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  pp.  421,  449,  502  and  512. 


46 


MEXICAN  STANDARD 


and  the  stone  axe  reputed  to  have  belonged  to  Montezuma,  “a  shield 
in  feather-work,  a  costly  fan,  a  tuft  of  feathers  curiously  worked 
(probably  a  device  or  banner),  and  a  notable  coat.  This  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  made  of  blue  feathers  and  as  having  around  it  and 
about  the  sleeves,  a  trimming  of  red  and  yellow  feathers,  besides 
being  covered  with  thin  plates  or  scales  of  gold.”1  The  shape  of 
this  coat  “with  sleeves”  was  evidently  that  shown  in  Duran’s  Atlas, 
copied  on  PI.  in,  figs.  2  and  3,  as  complementary  to  the  tall  head¬ 
dress  and  as  exclusively  used  by  the  leaders  in  war ;  and  in  color 
this  coat  matched  the  head-dress2  and  these  colors  were,  as  we 
know,  those  worn  b}r  no  other  but  Montezuma.  It  is  my  belief 
that  documentary  records,  beyond  my  present  reach,  will  furnish 
additional  evidence  certifying  that  authentic  relics  of  the  unfort¬ 
unate  Montezuma  were  conveyed  to  Castle  Ambras. 

We  may  here  state  in  regard  to  the  celebrated  stone  axe  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  Inventory,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Vienna  Museum, 
that  recent  investigations  and  comparison  proved  it  to  be  indubi¬ 
tably  of  Brazilian  origin.  Hence  Herr  von  Hochstetter’s  conclusion 
“that  the  Mexican  origin  of  Montezuma’s  celebrated  stone  axe  is 
more  than  doubtful  and  that  we  can  well  assume  that  this  axe,  if 
really  procured  by  Cortes  in  Mexico,  must  have  reached  Montezu¬ 
ma’s  hands  either  as  a  present  or  trophy  from  a  Brazilian  tribe” 
(op.  cit.,  p.  24).  I  would  further  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
this  axe  did  not  reach  the  Ambras  Collection  from  the  same  source 
as  the  rest  of  the  objects  above  enumerated.  I  have  found  the  rec¬ 
ord  that  it  was  presented  with  a  group  of  miscellaneous  curiosities 
of  European  manufacture  by  Count  Hannibal  von  Hohenems3  who, 
out  of  gratitude  for  a  magnificent  present  received  and  “knowing 
the  archduke’s  passion,”  wished  to  make  an  appropriate  return. 
It  is  not  known  from  what  source  Count  Hannibal  derived  this 
axe,  nor  upon  whose  authority  it  was  endowed  with  those  histori¬ 
cal  associations  which  alone  would  gain  its  admission  to  the  Am¬ 
bras  Collection.  Two  important  facts,  however,  are  evident;  one 
is,  this  axe  does  not  possess  the  guarantee  for  its  authenticity  and 
antecedents  that  would  exist  had  it  really  been  sent,  as  erroneously 


1  F.  von  Hochstetter,  op.  cit.,  pp.  7  aud  8. 

2  Reference  to  the  list  of  tributes  in  the  Mendoza  collection  will  prove  that  in  the 
twenty-three  representations  of  such  tall  head-dresses,  and  their  complementary  suits, 
these  invariably  match  each  other  in  color. 

s  Him,  op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  p.  439. 


OR  HEAD-DRESS? 


47 


recorded,  by  the  Pope  to  the  Archduke  and  that  there  is  no  need 
to  trace  it  to  Montezuma  at  all.  The  other  is  that  it  would  seem 
as  though  the  fact  that  it  had  belonged  to  Montezuma  would  make 
it  specially  acceptable  to  Ferdinand.  The  reason  for  this  may  be 
surmised  to  be  that  it  completed  the  military  equipment  of  the  his¬ 
torical  Mexican  chief,  already  preserved  at  Ambras. 

I  will  now  briefly  formulate  my  final  conclusions  respecting  the 
Vienna  feather-piece  based  on  the  foregoing  collective  evidence. 

The  testimony  of  native  Mexican  paintings  and  sculpture  and 
of  early  Spanish  records  taken  into  consideration  with  the  evidence 
furnished  by  its  structure  and  also  by  the  appellation  bestowed 
upon  it  in  the  Inventory  of  1596  indubitably  prove  the  Vienna 
feather-piece  to  be  a  head-dress. 

Manufactured  with  the  utmost  care,  of  materials  most  highly 
esteemed  by  the  Mexicans,  uniting  the  attribute  and  emblematic 
color  of  Huitzilopochotli,  fashioned  in  a  shape  exclusively  used  by 
the  hero  god’s  living  representative,  the  high  priest  and  war-chief, 
this  head-dress  could  have  been  appropriately  owned  and  disposed 
of  by  Montezuma  alone  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  from  which 
period  it  assuredly  dates. 

The  fact  that  in  1596  this  head-dress  was  in  the  possession  of 
a  nephew  of  Charles  V  renders  it  more  than  probable  that  it  had 
figured  among  the  presents  sent  to  the  Emperor  by  Cortes  while 
the  agreement  of  certain  of  its  details  with  an  entry  in  the  “Me- 
moria”  of  the  gifts  sent  in  1519  indicate  its  possible  identity  with 
the  head-dress  therein  described. 

I  am  most  desirous  of  expressing  in  conclusion  the  reluctance 
with  which  I  have  found  myself  obliged  to  criticise  some  of  the 
statements  published  by  the  late  Herr  von  Hoclistetter  in  his  in¬ 
teresting  memoir.  Had  this  been  avoidable,  I  would  gladly  have 
omitted  to  do  so  out  of  respectful  recognition  of  the  devoted  en¬ 
thusiasm  he  displayed  in  rescuing,  preserving  and  studying  all  facts 
connected  with  this  relic. 

To  judge  from  the  record  of  this  distinguished  scholar’s  life,  so 
nobly  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  scientific  truth,  I  am  led  to  believe 
that  had  my  essay  appeared  in  his  lifetime  the  fact  that  it  contra¬ 
dicted  some  of  his  opinions  would  not  have  deprived  it  of  his  gen¬ 
erous  recognition  as  an  honest  and  painstaking,  though  imperfect 
endeavor. 


APPENDIX. 


ON  THE  COMPLEMENTARY  SIGNS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  GRAPHIC 

SYSTEM. 

In  a  preliminary  note  made  by  me  in  August,  1886,  I  made  the 
statement  that  “I  had  discovered  certain  determinative  signs  that 
render  a  misinterpretation  of  the  Nahuatl  picture-writings  impos¬ 
sible.1  In  this  announcement  I  adopted,  in  connection  with  cer¬ 
tain  signs,  the  adjective  “determinative”  on  account  of  its  current 
meaning  “having  power  to  determine.”  I  did  not  realize  at  the 
time  that  by  so  doing  I  became  liable  to  misconstruction,  as  the 
constant  use  in  Egyptian  hieroglyphs  of  the  appellation  “deter¬ 
minative  signs”  with  a  restricted  sense  has  identified  this  term 
with  a  single  specific  significance.  Moreover,  the  term  “determi¬ 
native”  has  been  employed  by  such  prominent  writers  on  the  Mex¬ 
ican  graphic  system  as  Orozco  y  Berra,  Senor  Jose  Vigil,  Senor 
Antonio  Penafiel,  and  others,  with  differentiations  of  meaning  re¬ 
moved  from  that  I  wished  to  express. 

In  connection  with  the  attempted  decipherment  in  the  foregoing 
essay  I  am  afforded  a  welcome  opportunity  of  making  a  brief  but 
more  explicit  statement,  accompanied  by  a  few  illustrations,  of  the 
character  of  the  Mexican  signs  whose  systematic  occurrence  and 
incalculable  value  when  presented  with  new  decipherments  as  a 
proof  of  their  correctness  I  believe  I  am  the  first  to  observe  upon. 
It  is  far  from  my  intention  to  place  undue  importance  upon  this 
discovery.  Future  years  of  research  and  close  application  and  the 
cooperation  of  fellow  students  can  alone  test  and  reveal  its  true 
value.  At  the  same  time  the  mere  recognition  of  even  the  re¬ 
stricted  occurrence  of  these  signs  and  of  their  systematic  employ¬ 
ment  and  possible  value  marks  some  advance  in  what  often  seems 
a  hopeless  direction. 

It  is  due  to  valuable  information  kindly  communicated  to  me  by 

’Preliminary  note  of  an  analysis  of  the  Mexican  Codices  and  Graven  Inscriptions. 
Proceedings  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  vol.  xxxv, 
Buffalo  Meeting,  August,  1886. 


P.  M.  VOL.  I. 


4 


(49) 


50 


ON  THE  COMPLEMENTARY  SIGNS 


the  eminent  philolologist  and  Egyptologist,  Dr.  Carl  Abel,  that  I 
have  been  able  to  ascertain,  by  comparison,  the  equivalency  of  the 
signs  in  question  with  what  are  termed  in  Egyptian  hieroglyphy 
“complementary  signs”  or  complements :  German;  Erganzung, 
Erganzungszeichen :  French:  complement,  complement  phone- 
tique.1 

It  is  obvious  that  the  Mexican  complementary  signs,  like  the 
Egyptian,  must  have  arisen  from  the  endeavor  to  avoid  misinter¬ 
pretation  and  their  existence  proves  perhaps  the  attainment  of  a 
higher  stage  of  development  in  the  Aztec  graphic  system  than  has 
been  hitherto  admitted.  The  Mexican  complement  differs  from  the 
Egyptian  inasmuch  as  the  latter  “is  never  a  syllable  but  always  a 
single  letter,  a  circumstance  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the  orig¬ 
inal  brevitj’  of  Egyptian  words.”  The  characteristics  of  the  Nahuatl 
language  explain  equally  the  reason  why  the  Mexican  complement 
may  be  either  a  single  vowel,  a  monosyllable  or  dissyllable. 

In  selecting  illustrative  examples  I  have  taken  pains  to  choose 
only  hieroglyphs  of  well-known  signification  from  familiar  and  ac¬ 
cessible  sources.  Although  these  hieroglyphs  have  been  repeatedly 
analyzed  and  deciphered  and  the  presence  in  one  instance  noted  of 
what  will  be  shown  to  deserve  the  name  of  complementary  signs,  it 
seems  that  the  extent  to  which  these  were  employed  and  their  great 
value,  if  adopted  as  a  test  of  the  accuracy  of  new  decipherments, 
have  been  entirely  disregarded.  The  accepted  meaning  of  figs. 
10a,  b,  PI.  ii,  is  that  each  expresses  the  name  of  a  tribe  =  Acolhua, 
or  of  the  province  =  Acolhuacan.  In  both  hieroglj'phs  an  arm 

’I  am  indebted  to  the  same  high  authority  for  the  following  facts  relating  to  the 
Egyptian  complements. 

.  “The  phonetic  addition  was  discovered  but  erroneously  regarded  as  forming  part  of 
the  original  system  of  writing  by  Champollion.  Rosellini,  Lepsius  and  Seyffert  having 
defined  the  purely  ideographic  nature  of  the  original  hieroglyphs,  Rouge  in  his  Intro¬ 
duction  a  1’fOtude  des  Ecritures  et  de  la  langue  Egyptienne  (1869)  was  probably  the 
first,  or  at  least  one  of  the  first,  who  applied  the  term  complement.  Birch’s  Grammar 
iu  Bunsen’s  Egypt  (1867)  does  not  yet  contain  the  term. 

Complements  of  this  nature  occur  in  the  earliest  as  well  as  in  the  latest  records 
known;  the  earliest  records  contain  the  entire  hieroglyphical  system  perfectly  devel¬ 
oped  in  this,  as  well  as  in  nearly  every  other  respect. 

The  addition  of  phonetic  to  syllabic  signs  must  have  arisen  from  fear  of  misinterpre¬ 
tation.  Syllabic  signs  giving  the  sound  of  their  respective  words  admitted  of  various 
pronunciation  in  a  language  with  few  ideas  and  many  words  for  every  idea.  When 
therefore,  from  original  ideograph  they  became  purely  syllabic  and  figured  as  mere 
syllables  in  the  rendering  of  other  words  disconnected  with  the  things  they  represent, 
the  desirability  of  a  phonetic  complement  must  have  obtruded  itself  at  once.  Many 
syllabic  hieroglyphs  continued  polyphonous  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  just  as  in  cunei¬ 
form.” 


OF  THE  MEXICAN  GRAPHIC  SYSTEM. 


51 


and  hand  are  painted,  which  might  express  either  Maitl  —  arm  in 
general,  also  hand,  or  acolli —  shoulder.  Above  the  arm  the  con¬ 
ventional  sign  for  water,  =  atl,  is  painted,  yielding  in  compostiion 
the  phonetic  value  a  which  is  also  the  first  syllable  of  the  word 
acolli.  The  sign  of  water  is  in  this  case  the  complement ;  it  in¬ 
dicates  that  not  maitl  but  acolli  is  meant  to  be  expressed  by  the 
painted  arm,  and  duplicates  thus  the  first  syllable=acolli. 

A  similar  use  of  water  is  made  in  the  hieroglyph  for  Apanecatl  al¬ 
ready  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  essay  (PL  n,  fig.  8).  In  it  is  repre¬ 
sented  that  which  I  believe  to  have  been  shown  to  be  a  head-dress  = 

apan 

apanecatl,  above  =  pan,  water  =  a  =  apanecatl.  In  the  Mexican 
graphic  system  there  are  familiar  instances  of  a  single  word  being 
expressed  by  a  different  set  of  signs  conveying  the  same  sounds. 
In  the  manuscript  History  of  Mexico,  dated  1576  (thus  fifty-five 
years  after  the  Conquest)  we  find  above  the  figure  of  the  second  his¬ 
torical  personage,  a  hieroglyph  (PI.  ii,  fig.  14)  consisting  of  pantli 

pan 

—  banner,  pan  —  above,  a  =  water  =  apan,  as  shown  by  the  anno- 
tation=apane  written  next  to  this  hieroglyph  in  the  manuscript ; 
the  name  is  but  incompletely  expressed  in  this  case. 

An  interesting  example  is  furnished  by  a  hieroglyph  representing 
the  month  Atemoztli  of  the  Mexican  calendar  (fig.  12,  PI.  ii).  It 
contains  a  divided,  elongated  representation  of  water  between 
which  footsteps  are  painted.  Such  footsteps  were  constantly  em¬ 
ployed  to  express  a  multitude  of  meanings,  according  to  the  posi¬ 
tion  in  which  they  were  placed.1  The  necessity  for  an  indication 
as  to  which  of  many  words  the  footsteps  were,  in  this  case,  to  con¬ 
vey  is  evident  and  this  indication  was  furnished  by  the  native 

scribe  who  added  the  complement  a  stone  =  tetl  =  te  which  gives 

te 

the  first  syllable  of  the  verb  temo,  to  descend,  in  the  name  atemoz¬ 
tli.  A  parallel  example  to  this  is  given  by  Senor  Orozco  y  Berra 
as  No.  251,  page  5a  of  his  atlas,  and  in  the  accompanying  text  he 
moreover  states,  “In  order  to  make  the  reading  evident  the  sign 
tetl  accompanies  the  footsteps  and  gives  the  initial  syllable  (of  te- 
moc).”2 

Recognizing  as  he  did  the  presence  and  even  the  purpose  of  the 
sign  tetl  in  one  instance,  it  seems  strange  that  this  thoughtful  wri- 


1  See  Orozco  y  Berra,  Historia,  vol.  i,  chapter  v,  on  the  Escritura  jeroglifica. 
*  Op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  475. 


52 


ON  COMPLEMENTARY  SIGNS. 


ter,  whose  work  on  Ancient  Mexico  is  a  fund  of  valuable  informa¬ 
tion,  overlooked  the  recurrence  and  general  value  of  such  signs,  not 
only  as  affording,  when  present,  a  guarantee  for  the  correctness  of 
new  interpretations,  but  also  as  marking  a  step  of  the  development 
of  the  Mexican  graphic  system. 

It  is  an  interesting  and  significant  fact  that  but  366  years  ago  the 
Mexicans  in  their  elaboration  of  a  method  of  writing  had  attained, 
but  not  yet  perfected,  a  system  of  complementary  signs  such  as 
was  in  finished  use  in  Egypt  over  6000  years  ago. 


PLATB  I. 


.  la.  Front  view  of  the  feather-piece  in  the  Vienna  Museum,  after 
Hochstetter,  but  with  rectified  proportions. 

The  shaded  circular  gold  plates  are  the  only  genuine  ones. 

16.  View  of  the  back,  showing  network  and  supports,  according  to 
Hochstetter. 

c,  d,  e, /,  g.  Details  of  gold  ornaments,  about  two-thirds  natural  size, 
according  to  Hochstetter. 

h.  Conventional  representation  of  a  house  from  Codex  Telleriano 
Eemensis. 

2.  Diadem  of  thin  gold  represented  in  the  Mendoza  Collection, 
part  ii,  pi.  48  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i). 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  X.  pi.  I. 


PLATE  II. 


g.  1.  Group  of  warriors  showing  method  of  carrying  banners.  Atlas 
Duran,  part  i,  pi.  30. 

2.  Standard  of  the  net.  Mendoza  Collection,  part  in,  pi.  68. 

3.  Common  form  of  banner.  Mendoza  Collection,  part  in,  pi.  68. 

4.  Military  equipment,  consisting  of  dress  and  unmounted  banner 

“  river  of  gold.”  The  small  flag  represents  the  numeral  20 
and  is  placed  here  in  order  to  show  the  usual  way  it  was  used. 
Cortes,  Historia  ed.  Lorenzana. 

5.  Standard.  Mendoza  Collection,  part  in,  pi.  60. 

6.  Standard  with  framework  affording  means  of  attachment.  Men¬ 

doza  Collection,  part  n,  pi.  48. 

7.  Mexican  warrior,  from  oil-painting  in  the  Bilimek  Collection, 

Vienna,  after  Hochstetter. 

8.  Figure  with  Hieroglyph  representing  the  word  Apanecatl,  from 

MSS.  of  Boturiui  Collection  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i). 

9.  Head  with  Hieroglyph,  from  Mendoza  Collection,  part  i,  pi.  17. 
10a.  Hieroglyph.  Mendoza  Collection,  part  i,  pi.  22. 

106.  Hieroglyph.  Codex  Osuna. 

11.  Group  from  original  Mexican  MSS.  Bilimek  Collection,  Vienna 

Museum. 

12.  Hieroglyph  of  month  Atemoztli.  Atlas  Orozco  y  Berra,  pi.  18. 
13a,  6.  Fans.  Mendoza  Collection,  part  m,  pi.  69. 

14.  Hieroglyph  from  a  MSS.  History  of  Mexico  written  in  1576. 


IPea/body  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  I  pi.  II. 


PLATE  III. 


Illustrations  of  ancient  Mexican  feather  head-dresses  and  of  the  mode 
of  wearing  them  taken  from  native  Manuscripts.— 

Fig.  1.  Head-dress  from  Historia  de  Nueva  Espana,  Hernan  Cortes,  ed. 
Lorenzana,  Mexico,  1770.  Cordillera,  p.  13. 

2.  Representation  of  the  head-chief  (emperor)  Axayacatl  in  war- 

costume.  Atlas  Duran,  part  i,  pi.  10.  > 

3.  Representation  of  the  head-chief  Tizoc,  in  war-costume.  At¬ 

las  Duran,  part  i,  pi.  13. 

4.  Representation  of  the  head-chief  Itzcoatl  in  war-costume. 

5.  Head-dress  from  Historia,  Cort6s.  Cordillera,  p.  32. 

6.  Head-dress  from  Mendoza  Collection  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i), 

part  ii,  pi.  45. 

7.  Representation  of  head-chief  “Tizoc,”  in  bas-relief  around  “Sac- 

riticial-Stone.” 

8.  Representation  of  defied  hero  Huitzilopochtli,  in  Atlas  Duran 

part  ii,  pi.  1. 

9.  Warrior  in  bas-relief,  around  “Sacriflcial-Stoue.” 

10.  Head-dress  from  Mendoza  Collection,  part  n,  pi.  28. 

11.  Head-dress  with  means  of  attachment,  from  Mendoza  Collection , 

part  ii,  pi.  21. 

12.  Representation  of  a  war-chief,  from  Vatican  Codex,  pi.  82 

(Kingsborough,  vol.  n).  • 

13.  Head-dress,  with  means  of  attachment,  from  Mendoza  Collection 

part  ii,  pi.  25. 

14.  Representation  of  head-dress  with  beak  over  forehead,  from  Atlas 

Duran,  part  n,  pi.  2. 

15.  Head-dress  of  Xiuhtecutli  from  Codex  Telleriano-Reraensis,  pi. 

12  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i). 

16.  Head-dress  with  beak.  Arch.  Selden,  A.  2,  p.  20  (Kingsborough, 

vol.  i). 

17.  Head-dress  with  beak.  Codex  Ramirez,  pi.  4,  fig.  6. 

18.  Head-dress  with  beak.  Bodleian  MSS.  p.  35  (Kingsb.  vol.  i). 

19.  Part  of  head-dress  of  Xochiquetzal.  Codex  Telleriano  Remen- 

sis,  part  i,  pi.  30  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i). 

20.  Head-dress  from  Vienna  Codex,  pi.  64  (Kingsborough,  vol.  ii). 

21.  Head-dress  from  Vatican  Codex,  pi.  39  (Kingsborough,  vol.  i). 


Peabody  lVtii.seu.rn.  Papers. 


Vol.  I.  pi.  ITT. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MUSEUM. 

—  Harvard  University  — 

Yol.  I.  No.  2. 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS, 

THE  COAST  PEOPLE  OF  TEXAS. 


BY 

ALBERT  S.  GATSCHET, 

United  States  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


With  notes  bt  Charles  A.  Hammond  and  Alice  W.  Oliver  and  a  Vocabulary 
OBTAINED  FROM  ALICE  VV.  OLIVER. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 

PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY. 
1891. 


PRINTED  BT 

The  Salem  Press  Publishing  and  Printing  Co. 

Ebf  Ha  Urn  |1rtss. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Prefatory  Notice.  By  F.  W.  Putnam . v 

Biographical  Notice  of  Mrs.  Oliver.  By  C.  A.  Hammond  .  vii 
The  Carancahua  Tribe  of  Indians.  By  Charles  A.  Hammond  .  9 

Notes  on  the  Carancahua  Indians.  By  Alice  W.  Oliver  ...  15 

The  Karankawa  Indians.  By  Albert  S.  Gatschet . 21 

Notes  on  Karankawa  History 

I.  The  Karankawa  People  from  the  Discovery  down  to 

the  Year  1835  23 

II.  Other  Indian  Tribes  of  the  Texan  Littoral  ....  33 

III.  Tribal  Synonymy  of  the  Karankawas . 43 

IY.  The  Karankawa  Nation  after  1835 ;  its  Decline  and 

Extinction . 45 

Map  of  ancient  domain  of  the  Karankawa  Indians  (to  face)  .  46 

V.  Ethnographic  Sketch  of  the  Karankawa  Indians  .  .  52 

VI.  The  Karankawa  Language  . . 73 

Vocabularies 

Karankawa  and  English . 73 

English  and  Karankawa  .  . 83 

Grammatic  Elements  of  the  Language . 87 

Affinities  of  the  Language  . 95 

VII.  Bibliographic al  Annotations . 99 

Index  . 101 


PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


In  November,  1888,  it  fell  to  my  good  fortune  to  make  the  ac¬ 
quaintance  of  Mr.  Charles  A.  Hammond,  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Boston,  Revere  Beach  and  Lynn  Railroad,  whose  workmen  had  dis¬ 
covered  a  burial  place  of  the  Massachusetts  Indians  at  Winthrop. 
With  a  consideration  for  scientific  research  worthy  of  his  educa¬ 
tion  and  attainments,  he  notified  me  of  the  discovery  and  held  the 
place  intact  until  I  could  carry  on  a  systematic  exploration.  Dur¬ 
ing  this  work  I  daily  met  Mr.  Hammond  and  in  the  course  of  con¬ 
versation  he  told  me  of  Mrs.  Oliver  and  of  her  having  known  the 
KArankawa  Indians  whose  language  she  had  learned,  and  of  the  vo¬ 
cabulary  he  had  gathered  from  her.  We  both  realized  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  this  vocabulary  as  the  remnant  of  a  language  now  extinct, 
and  1  urged  its  publication  with  such  an  account  of  the  tribe  as 
Mrs.  Oliver  could  furnish.  The  manuscript  was  soon  given  to  me. 

Knowing  of  the  researches  of  Mr.  A.  S.  Gatschet  and  that  he 
was  particularly  interested  in  the  languages  of  the  southern  tribes, 
I  sent  the  manuscript  to  him  with  the  request  that  he  would  edit  it 
for  publication  by  the  Peabody  Museum.  Mr.  Gatschet,  while  in 
Texas  in  1884  and  1886,  had  searched  in  vain  for  trustworthy  in¬ 
formation  on  this  language,  and  his  surprise  at  receiving  the  vocab¬ 
ulary  and  learning  that  there  was  a  lady  in  Massachusetts  who  un¬ 
derstood  the  language  can  be  imagined.  He  soon  obtained  leave 
from  the  Director  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology  to  visit  Mrs. 
Oliver,  and  his  visit  resulted  in  securing  from  her  considerable  ad¬ 
ditional  information,  drawn  forth  by  critical  and  systematic  ques¬ 
tions  which  would  occur  only  to  one  who  had  made  Indian  lan¬ 
guages  his  life-long  study. 

The  several  papers  resulting  from  the  fortunate  series  of  incidents 
to  which  I  have  referred,  are  here  published  as  the  second  number 
of  the  Special  Papers  of  the  Museum. 

Greatly  regretted  by  all  who  knew  her,  the  gifted  and  intelligent 

69 


VI 


PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


lady  who  had  once  knovn  a  now  extinct  tribe,  and  who  was  the  only 
person  from  whom  a  vocabulary  could  be  obtained,  died  within  three 
months  after  she  had  done  what  she  could  to  put  on  record  a  lan¬ 
guage  which  she  had  learned  and  spoken  in  her  j^outh. 

This  incident  is  certainly  a  most  conclusive  argument  for  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  immediate  work  among  all  the  Indian  tribes ;  that  their 
language  and  their  myths,  their  legends  and  their  customs,  may  be 
investigated  and  recorded.  In  another  year  it  will  be  too  late  to 
obtain  many  facts  which  can  be  secured  during  the  present.  The 
Indian  is  now  fast  merging  into  our  civilization.  His  life  is  chang¬ 
ing  and  his  language  and  customs  are  rapidly  disappearing.  Let  us, 
while  we  may,  strive  to  atone  for  the  unjust  treatment  he  has  re¬ 
ceived,  since  the  first  white  men  landed  on  the  shore  of  America, 
by  collecting  and  recording  such  facts  relating  to  his  past  history 
as  are  yet  attainable — facts  so  essential  in  a  study  of  the  phases  of 
life  through  which  all  races  are  passing,  or  have  passed,  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  culture. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  of  the  Museum. 

Cambridge ,  Mass.,  April,  1890. 


Note.— The  paging  of  the  volume,  of  which  this  is  the  second  paper,  is  given  at  the 
foot  of  the  pages. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE  OF  MRS.  OLIVER. 


BY  CHARLES  A.  HAMMOND. 


Alice  Williams  Oliver  was  born  in  Beverly,  Nov.  27,  1828. 
She  was  the  only  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas  Bridges1  of  Beverly  who 
was  a  successful  shipmaster.  After  a  number  of  fortunate  voyages 
to  different  parts  of  the  world  he  found  himself  in  New  Orleans  at 
the  time  of  the  Texan  “War  of  Independence”  with  Mexico  (1836), 
and  being  of  an  adventurous  spirit  he  engaged  in  transporting  mu¬ 
nitions  of  war  and  other  supplies  from  New  Orleans  to  Matagorda, 
Texas.  Afterward  learning  of  the  offer  by  the  State  of  Texas  of  a 
township  to  any  one  who  would  bring  his  family  there  and  reside 
on  it,  he  with  his  brother  William  (who  was  the  mate  of  a  ship) 
went  out  and  located  his  land  on  the  shores  of  Matagorda  bay,  tak¬ 
ing  his  family  there  in  the  year  1838. 

The  writer  first  became  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Alice  W.  Oliver  in 
the  year  1869,  and  was  much  interested  in  the  narration  of  her  ex¬ 
periences  of  Texan  life.  Her  mother,  a  finely-educated  woman, 
took  great  care  to  bring  up  her  daughter  so  that  she  should  not  lose 
any  accomplishment  through  separation  from  the  educational  advan¬ 
tages  she  had  herself  enjoyed,  and  regular  lessons  were  learned 
daily.  Their  house  in  Texas,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Matagorda, 
was  ever  open  for  the  entertainment  of  guests  for  as  long  as  they 
chose  to  stay,  and  many  persons  of  mark  who  were  attracted  by  the 
inducements  offered  by  the  new  republic  stopped  there  en  route.  A 

'Capt.  Thomas  Bridges(born  in  Beverly,  Sept.  21, 1795;  died  in  Texas  1848)  was  the  old¬ 
est  of  the  four  children  of  Benjamin  Girdler  Bridges  (born  Sept.  8, 1771;  died  Apr.  IS, 
1816)  and  Abigail  Mercy  Blyth  (born  Aug.  26, 1772 ;  died  Aug.  15, 1830),  who  were  married 
Jan.  1,  1795. 

Capt.  Bridges  married  (Aug.  10, 1825)  Hannah  Helliger  Horton  (born  in  Marblehead 
March  2S,  1798;  died  Aug.  9,  1853)  who  was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  Ilorton  by  his 
second  wife,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Williams  (n^e  Broughton).  Two  children  were  born  to  Capt. 
Bridges ;  Thomas,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Alice  Williams  who  married  William  F.  Ol¬ 
iver  (born  in  Lynn  1810;  died  in  Lynn,  Feb.  7, 1877),  their  children  being  Alice  Cora  (wife 
of  Charles  A.  Hammond)  and  Sarah  Jane  (wife  of  Charles  E.  Lovejoy), 


71 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE. 


viii 

number  of  foreign  gentlemen  at  different  times  thus  shared  the  hos¬ 
pitalities  of  Capt.  Bridges,  among  others  Prince  Salm-Salm  and 
suite,  in  connection  with  a  German  colonization  scheme.  From  an¬ 
other  guest,  a  French  gentleman  of  high  attainments,  Mrs.  Oliver 
received  instruction  in  the  French  language,  the  knowledge  of  which 
remained  with  her  through  life.  But  her  indoor  pursuits  were  also 
mingled  with  abundant  opportunities  for  outdoor  exercise  and  she 
became  an  expert  horsewoman,  often  taking  long  rides  over  the 
prairie  and  along  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  bay. 

Mrs.  Oliver  often  referred  with  great  interest  and  enthusiasm  to 
her  delightful  life.  in.  Texas,  and  among  other  things  spoke  partic¬ 
ularly  of  the  Indian  tribe  of  Karankawas  (also  written  Caranca- 
huas)  in  whom  she  came  to  take  a  great  interest  and  whose  language 
she  succeeded  by  persistent  effort,  in  acquiring,  sufficiently,  at  least, 
for  all  ordinary  conversation,  writing  down  such  new  words  as  she 
learned,  and  subsequently  verifying  them  as  parties  of  Indians  en¬ 
camped  each  summer  near  her  dwelling,  with  whom  she  soon  be- 
became  a  great  favorite. 

It  was  the  writer’s  sincere  lament  of  the  fact  that  the  record  which 
Mrs.  Oliver  had  made  and  preserved  for  a  number  of  j-ears  had  been 
lost,  that  led  her  to  reproduce  from  her  memory  as  many  of  the 
Indian  words  as  possible  ;  and  in  this,  though  the  attempts  were 
at  intervals  during  several  years,  she  succeeded  most  remarkably, 
so  that  it  was  the  writer’s  privilege  thus  to  record  over  a  hundred 
words  of  this  now  extinct  and  unwritten  language.  It  was  upon 
making  the  acquaintance  of  Prof.  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  in  connection  with  certain  discoveries  of  Indian  remains, 
made  while  building  a  railroad  in  the  town  of  Winthrop,  Mass.,  that 
this  list  of  words  was  brought  to  his  attention  ;  and  this  resulted  in 
the  visit  to  Mrs.  Oliver  by  Mr.  A.  S.  Gatschet  of  "Washington,  in 
November,  1888,  at  which  time  he  carefully  went  over  the  entire  list 
with  her  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  number  of  additional  words 
as  well  as  further  information  concerning  the  manners  and  customs 
of  t  his  interesting  tribe,  once  very  powerful  and  greatly  feared,  but 
of  whom  it  is  believed  that  not  a  single  descendant  is  now  living. 

Further  investigations  with  some  comparison  of  words  of  neigh¬ 
boring  tribes  were  about  to  be  undertaken  when  interrupted  b}T  the 
death  (after  a  brief  sickness)  of  Mrs.  Oliver,  Feb.  8,  1889. 

Lynn ,  Mass.,  March ,  1890. 


72 


THE  CARANCAIIUA  TRIBE  OF  INDIANS. 


Br  CHARLES  A.  HAMMOND. 


During  the  revolt  of  Texas  against  Mexico,  known  to  all  Texans 
as  the  “  war  of  independence,”  Capt.  Thomas  Bridges,  of  Beverly, 
Mass.,  being  in  New  Orleans  with  his  vessel,  was  engaged  to  carry 
arms  and  supplies  from  New  Orleans  to  Texas  ports,  running  the 
Mexican  “  blockade.”  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  on  a  tract 
of  land,  or  “head-right,”  situated  upon  the  northerly  shores  of 
Matagorda  bay,  and  soon  after,  in  January,  1838,  brought  his  fam¬ 
ily  to  reside  there.  During  the  succeeding  ten  years  his  daughter, 
an  only  child,  became  much  interested  in  a  wandering  tribe  of  In¬ 
dians,  the  once  numerous  Carancahuas,  and  succeeded  in  acquiring 
many  of  their  words,  so  that  she  was  able  to  converse  with  them  in 
their  own  language.  As  fast  as  learned  she  wrote  the  words  down 
to  the  number  of  five  or  six  hundred.  This  record,  unfortunately, 
is  lost,  but  its  compiler  in  after  years  (1871)  drew  from  her  memory 
and  repeated  to  the  writer  a  list  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
Carancahua  words,  including  the  ten  numerals,  and  these  are  em¬ 
bodied  in  the  following  vocabulary. 

Mrs.  Oliver  stated  that  when  the  Indians  conversed  they  care¬ 
fully  husbanded  or  somewhat  repressed  their  breath,  and,  at  the 
end  of  a  sentence  or  isolated  word,  it  escaped  in  a  gentle  sigh  or 
“breathing,” — giving  the  speakers  an  air  of  ennui ;  this  was  height¬ 
ened  by  their  “conversational  ”  expression,  which  was  stolid  and 
slightly  contemptuous,  and  by  their  custom  of  never  looking  at  the 
person  to  whom  they  were  talking,  as  if  their  speech  was  an  act  of 
utter  condescension. 

Many  different  parties  of  Indians  encamped  near  the  residence 
of  Captain  Bridges  during  successive  seasons,  and  were  often  sur¬ 
prised  at  being  accosted  by  a  young  white  girl  in  their  own  language. 
The  words  obtained  by  her  were  thus  verified  as  to  their  significa¬ 
tion,  and  one  or  two  instances  of  deception  exposed.  The  innocent 

73 


10 


THE  CARANCAHCA  TRIBE  OF  INDIANS. 


use  of  a  false  word,  such  as  tesnakwak’n  for  tesnakwaya  (milk), 
caused  the  Indians  much  amusement,  and  they  kept  repeating  the 
false  word  softly  to  themselves  with  a  sort  of  quiet  laughter.  They 
were  very  exact  in  their  pronunciation  and  ridiculed  poor  elocution, 
such  as  the  hasty  utterance  of  the  Italian  word  madonna  to  repre¬ 
sent  their  word  madona  (pig). 

Their  parties  usually  voyaged  from  place  to  place  along  the  coast 
in  their  canoes ,  or  “  dug-outs,”  which  were  made  from  large  trees, 
the  bark  left  on.  One  side  of  the  log  was  hewed  flat  and  the  log  was 
then  dug  out,  the  ends  bluntly  pointed,  leaving  a  triangular  place 
or  deck  at  each  end.  The  women  and  children  and  household 
goods  occupied  the  “  hold,”  while  the  father  of  the  family  stood  on 
the  stern  and  poled  the  boat  along,  keeping  not  far  away  from  the 
shore.  On  arriving  at  a  landing  place,  the  men  hauled  the  canoe 
up  on  the  beach  and  then  left  the  women  to  set  up  the  wigwams. 

The  site  of  their  camp  was  always  close  to  the  beach  or  bluff, 
and  the  squaws  carried  the  tent  poles,  bundles  of  skins  and  such 
simple  utensils  as  they  possessed  to  the  site  selected  and  proceeded 
to  build.  A  dozen  slender  willow  poles  about  one  and  one-half 
inches  in  diameter  and  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  long,  sharpened  to  a 
point  for  boring  into  the  soil,  were  set  in  a  circle  ordinarily  of 
about  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  but  varying  with  the  size  of 
the  family  or  families  —  for  two  often  occupied  the  same  hut.  The 
poles  were  about  a  yard  apart  and  admitted  of  entrance  between 
any  two.  The  tops  of  the  poles  were  then  bent  over  toward  the 
centre  and  interlaced  in  a  rude  sort  of  wickerwork  aided  by  an 
occasional  thong  of  deer  skin.  Upon  this  light  framework  they 
usually  spread  deer  skins,  adding  sometimes  the  sl$in  of  a  bear,  a 
wild-cat  or  a  panther  carelessly  fastened  to  the  poles  with  deer 
thongs.  The}'  never  thus  covered  more  than  one-half  of  the  wig¬ 
wam,  or  ba-ak,  and  always  selected  the  windward  side  for  this  pro¬ 
tection  ;  should  the  wind  change  decidedly,  or  should  the  sun  beat 
down  too  fiercely,  they  changed  the  position  of  the  skins  for  shelter 
or  shade. 

After  the  hut  was  built,  a  fire  was  made.  The  squaws  usually 
begged  fire  or  matches  from  the  settlers,  but  in  case  they  had  no 
other  means  of  kindling  it,  the}'  resorted  to  the  primitive  method 
of  producing  it  by  friction  of  wood.  Their  fire-slicks  they  always 
carried  with  them  and  kept  them  carefully  wrapped  in  several  lay¬ 
ers  of  skins  tied  up  with  thongs  aud  made  into  a  neat  package ; 
74 


THE  CARANCAHUA  TRIBE  OF  INDIANS. 


11 


they  were  thus  kept  very  dry  and  as  soon  as  the  occasion  for 
their  use  was  over,  they  were  immediately  wrapped  up  again  and 
laid  away.  These  sticks  were  two  in  number.  One  of  them  was 
held  across  the  knees,  as  the  Indian  squatted  on  the  ground,  and  was 
about  two  feet  long,  made  of  a  close-grained,  brownish-yellow  wood 
(perhaps  pecan),  half-round  in  section,  the  flat  face  (held  upward) 
about  an  inch  across  in  which  were  three  holes  about  half  an  inch 
in  diameter  and  of  equal  depth,  the  bottoms  slightly  concave.  The 
three  holes  were  equally  distant  apart,  about  two  inches,  and  the 
first  one  was  the  same  distance  from  the  end  of  the  stick  which 
rested  upon  the  right  knee.  In  one  of  the  holes  was  inserted  the 
slightly  rounded  end  of  a  twirling  stick  about  eighteen  inches  long, 
made  of  a  white,  soft  wood,  somewhat  less  than  the  diameter  of  the 
hole,  so  as  to  turn  easily.  Holding  the  twirler  (which  was  perfectly 
cylindrical)  vertically  between  the  palms  of  the  hands,  a  gentlebut 
rapid  alternating  rotary  motion  was  imparted.  After  continuing  this 
for  about  five  minutes,  the  abrasion  of  the  softer  wood  caused  a 
fine  impalpable  dust  to  collect  in  the  hole  from  which  soon  issued  a 
thin  blue  line  of  smoke ;  as  soon  as  the  Indian  saw  this  he  quickly 
withdrew  his  twirler  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  caught 
up  and  crushed  a  few  very  dry  leaves,  previously  placed  on  a  dry 
cloth  close  by  (having  been  produced  from  their  wrappings  in  which 
they  had  been  carefully  preserved  for  this  very  purpose,  to  serve  as 
tinder),  and  very  quickly  but  lightly  sprinkled  them  in  and  around 
the  hole,  over  which  both  hands  were  then  held  protecting^,  the 
head  bent  down  and  the  incipient  fire  fanned  to  a  blaze  with  the 
breath.  As  soon  as  the  blaze  had  fairly  caught,  the  stick  and  tinder 
were  deftly  turned  over  upon  a  little  pile  of  dry  twigs  and  leaves, 
made  ready  beforehand,  and  the  fire  was  started.  This  operation  of 
producing  fire  was  always  performed  by  the  men.  The  fire  was  in¬ 
variably  built  in  the  centre  of  the  hut  upon  the  ground,  and  was  us¬ 
ually  kept  burning, — for  the  Indians  never  slept  regularly  but 
whenever  they  pleased,  being  often  asleep  in  the  daytime  and  awake 
nights  or  vice  versa,  as  they  felt  inclined. 

The  Indians’  lodge-furniture  consisted  of  skins, — single  skins  to 
sit  upon  and  a  small  pile  of  skins  for  a  bed.  Their  food,  —  ven¬ 
ison,  fish,  oysters,  turtles,  etc., —  was  always  either  boiled  in  rude 
earthen  pots  or  roasted  in  the  ashes  of  their  fire.  They  also  baked 
in  the  ashes  cakes  of  flour  or  meal  obtained  from  the  white  people, 
and  in  their  season  they  gathered  berries,  nuts,  persimmons,  wild 

75 


12 


THE  CARANCAHUA  TRIBE  OF  INDIANS. 


grapes,  etc.,  and  at  certain  times  in  the  year  obtained  quantities 
of  sea-birds’  eggs  of  many  different  kinds  of  which  they  were 
very  fond.  Fish  were  abundant,  —  red-fish,  sea-trout,  flounders, 
sheep’s-head,  Spanish  mackerel  and  Jew  fish.  The  Indians  took 
their  fish  by  the  same  weapons  with  which  they  hunted  their  game, 
viz. :  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  they  were  remarkably  expert  in  this 
way  of  fishing.  Whether  in  their  canoes,  or  while  standing  in  the 
water  after  wading  out  hip-deep,  no  matter  how  turbid  or  rough  the 
water  might  be,  their  aim  was  unerring  ;  holding  their  arrow  in  place 
with  drawn  bow  and  watching  intently,  suddenly  “  the  arrow  flies 
and  the  fish  dies,”  and  then  as  it  rises  to  the  surface  it  is  easily  se¬ 
cured.  Often  when  the  white  people  had  tried  in  vain  with  their 
hook  and  line,  the  Indians  with  their  trusty  bow  never  failed  to  cap¬ 
ture  a  fish.  It  seems  that  they  could  feel  the  approach  of  a  fish  in 
roiled  water  by  the  motion  or  undulation  of  the  water  below  the  sur¬ 
face. 

The  weapons  of  these  Indians  consisted  of  bows  and  arrows  of 
their  own  manufacture,  clubs  and  tomahawks,  and  long,  double- 
edged  knives  procured  from  the  whites.  These  knives  wrere  carried 
in  sheaths  attached  to  belts  of  deer-hide.  They  had  also  hatchets 
and  axes,  of  the  ordinary  patterns,  for  domestic  use. 

Their  utensils  were  few  and  simple, —  rude  wooden  spoons,  and 
a  few  clay  vessels  of  different  sizes  with  bottoms  rounded  —  never 
flat.  The  women  had  needles  made  of  fish-bones  with  smooth 
nicely-made  eyes  which  carried  threads  of  fine  deer  sinew  manu¬ 
factured  with  great  care  and  patience,  and  with  these  thejr  made 
their  skirts  of  dressed  deer  skin.  They  had  no  covering  of  any 
kind  for  the  feet  or  for  the  head. 

Their  boivs  of  red  cedar  conformed  to  a  certain  rule  of  length, 
according  to  stature,  reaching  from  the  foot  to  the  chin  or  eye. 
They  were  beautifully  made  and  kept  well  oiled  and  polished. 
At  the  middle,  the  bow  was  about  two  inches  wide,  and  one  and  a 
half  inches,  or  so,  thick.  The  bow-string  was  formed  of  twisted 
deer  sinew  of  many  fine  strands  aggregating  one-fourth  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  making  a  very  strong  line  perfectly  smooth  and  hard. 
Great  pains  were  taken  to  keep  the  line  smooth  and  in  perfect  re¬ 
pair,  any  slight  tendency  toward  fraying  being  at  once  remedied. 

The  arrows  were  about  a  yard  long,  the  shaft  something  over 
half  an  inch  in  diameter  with  a  sharp  thin  steel  head  about  three 
inches  long,  the  shank  of  which  was  set  in  a  cleft  of  the  shaft  which 


76 


THE  CARANCAHUA  TRIBE  OP  INDIANS. 


13 


was  wound  with  sinew.  The  arrows  were  feathered  with  wild  geese 
wing-feathers,  three  being  set  equidistant  around  the  shaft,  in 
slots  or  clefts  and  then  wound.  The  feathers  were  about  six  inches 
long  and  showed  about  one-half  inch  from  shaft.  In  shooting,  the 
arrow  was  held  with  one  feather  on  top,  vertical,  and  the  other  two 
radiating  downward  and  outward.  The  bow  was  held  with  the  left 
hand  in  the  firm  grasp  of  the  palm  and  fingers,  so  that  the  thumb 
was  free  to  move  ;  the  shaft  of  the  arrow  thus  rested  on  the  first 
thumb  joint,  so  allowing  one  of  the  two  lower  feathers  to  pass  on 
each  side  of  the  thumb  and  also  clear  of  the  bow,  and  permitting 
accurate  aim.  The  bow-string  was  drawn  to  the  left  cheek  by  the 
first  two  fingers  of  the  right  hand  hooked  over  the  string,  one  above 
and  the  other  below  the  arrow-shaft. 

The  foregoing  information  was  obtained  from  Mrs.  Alice  W.  Ol¬ 
iver,  who  at  the  request  of  the  writer  also  composed  the  following 
“  Notes”  on  the  history  and  customs  of  these  Indians. 

Lynn ,  Mass.,  Nov.  5,  1888. 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARANCAHUA  INDIANS. 


By  ALICE  W.  OLIVER. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  which  se¬ 
cured  to  Texas  her  independence,  there  seems  to  be  no  record  of 
the  Carancahua  tribe  of  Indians,  though  they  had  probably  long 
been  inhabitants  of  the  country.  At  that  time  they  were  a  very 
powerful  and  warlike  nation,  exceedingly  dreaded  by  the  Mexicans 
and  by  other  tribes  of  Indians  for  their  unparalleled  ferocity  and 
cruelty.  They  were  cannibals,  and  horrible  stories  are  still  told  of 
atrocities  perpetrated  upon  certain  isolated  families,  who  were 
among  the  pioneers  upon  the  coast  of  Texas.  Continual  tribal 
wars,  in  which  the  Carancahuas  appear  to  have  suffered  disastrous 
defeat,  about  this  time  reduced  their  numbers  considerably,  so  that 
when,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  their  services  were  offered  to  the 
Mexicans,  3000  warriors  were  supposed  to  represent  the  strength 
of  the  tribe.1  They  rendered  very  efficient  service  to  the  Mexicans 
by  harassing  the  few  scattered  families  along  the  coast  where  sol¬ 
diers  could  not  have  found  their  way,  and  passing  like  birds  of 
prey  silently  and  swiftly  in  their  canoes  along  the  shore,  from  Co- 
pano  along  the  Trespalacios  and  Matagorda  bays,  always  managed 
to  elude  pursuit.  Swooping  suddenly  down  upon  the  defenceless 
inhabitants,  they  spared  neither  age  nor  sex,  involving  every  living 
being  in  one  general  massacre.  They  disappeared  as  silently  as 
they  came,  leaving  only  a  few  ruins  to  tell  the  story. 

Subsequently,  owing  it  is  supposed  partly  to  the  effect  of  cer¬ 
tain  treacherous  conduct  toward  them  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  partly  to  the  fact  that  the  Indians  probably  began  to  foresee 
the  final  result  of  the  war  and  the  importance  of  gaining  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  the  Americans  when  their  sway  should  become  estab¬ 
lished  in  Texas,  these  Indians,  with  other  tribes,  aboutthe  time  of  the 

1Frora  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  warriors  is  all  we  can  assume  for  that 
period.— A.  S.  G. 


79 


16 


NOTES  ON  THE  CAEANCAHUA  INDIANS. 


memorable  battle  of  the  Alamo,  or  immediately  after,  left  the  Mex¬ 
ican  army  and  became  nominally  the  allies  of  the  Americans  who 
were  then  steadily  gaining  strength  and  power.  In  the  battle  of 
the  Alamo  these  Indians  suffered  greatly  and  many  of  their  war¬ 
riors —  the  flower  of  the  tribe  indeed  —  were  either  killed  or  cap¬ 
tured.  They  were,  from  that  time,  under  the  protection  of  the 
American  flag,  and  the  settlers  were  thus  secure  from  their  further 
depredations  ;  for  the  Indians  perfectly  comprehended  that  their 
existence  as  a  tribe  depended  thereafter  entirely  upon  their  implicit 
obedience,  at  least  so  far  as  outward  acts  were  concerned,  to  certain 
conditions  which  were  imposed  as  the  price  of  their  protection  ; 
any  deviation  would  mean  utter  extermination.  Probably  their  ten¬ 
dencies  were  always  unchanged,  and  their  sympathies  were  toward 
the  Mexicans  notwithstanding,  and  their  hatred  of  the  Americans 
was  longing  for  some  safe  opportunity  to  betray  itself.  One  such 
instance  is  recorded,  where  detection  seemed  impossible  (to  them), 
but  it  was  discovered  and  followed  by  a  retributive  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans  which  virtually  destroyed  the  tribe  and  re¬ 
duced  the  remnant  to  utter  and  abject  submission. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  establishment  of  American 
rule,  these  Indians  continued  the  same  wandering  ways  regarding 
their  domestic  life,  as  they  had  always  observed.  They  had  never 
any  settled  abiding  place,  but  wandered  from  point  to  point,  all 
along  the  coast ;  now,  no  longer  free  to  come  and  go,  or  linger 
at  their  pleasure,  but  living  their  lives  under  protest  as  it  were 
and  only'  on  sufferance.  As  their  tribal  strength  declined,  and 
they  realized  that  their  traditions  were  the  only  inheritance  of  their 
children  and  that  the  deeds  of  their  generation  could  never  add 
any  lustre  to  the  record,  that  in  a  few  years  they  would  be  utterly 
extinguished  as  a  nation,  the  spirit  seemed  to  die  within  them  and 
their  degradation  ivas  complete.  Their  life  remained  unchanged 
in  its  general  features.  The  chase  and  fishing  had  always  been 
their  chief  dependence  and  so  it  continued  to  a  great  extent ;  their 
habits  were  primitive  in  the  extreme,  but  here,  as  always,  the 
blighting  touch  of  civilization  left  its  baneful  trace  and  hastened 
the  doom  of  the  fast  diminishing  tribe.  They  had  always  lived  an 
itinerant  life,  passing  in  their  “dug-outs,”  which  were  long  and  very 
narrow,  yet  capacious,  from  spot  to  spot,  stopping  generally'  where 
some  settler  had  made  his  home,  always  where  fresh  water  and  brush¬ 
wood  for  their  fire  were  easily  attainable.  The  long,  slender  poles 
80 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARANCAHUA  INDIANS. 


17 


for  their  rude  tents,  or  wigwams,  were  very  carefully  and  skilfully 
twisted  together  and  bestowed  in  their  canoes.  Besides  a  few 
cooking  utensils,  skins  for  their  beds,  and  their  bows  and  arrows  they 
had  literally  no  possessions.  The  task  of  erecting  the  tents  by  la¬ 
boriously  boring  the  willow  poles  into  the  earth  at  either  end,  care¬ 
fully  pointed,  crossing  at  the  top,  and  covering  the  windward  side 
with  undressed  skins,  the  bringing  of  water  and  wood  and  other 
menial  tasks,  were  always  performed  by  the  women.  The  fire 
was  in  the  middle  of  the  tent,  upon  a  few  stones,  and  the  fish  or 
venison  was  cooked  and  eaten,  not  with  salt  but  with  chile,  fin¬ 
gers  taking  the  place  of  forks.  The  men  were  very  tall,  magnifi¬ 
cently  formed,  with  very  slender  hands  and  feet.  They  were  not 
very  dark,  and  many  of  them  had  very  delicate  features  and,  'with¬ 
out  exception,  splendid  teeth.  Their  long,  black  hair  was  rarely 
combed  but  frequently  braided  and  adorned  with  bits  of  colored 
flannel,  sometimes  terminating  in  the  rattle  of  the  rattlesnake, 
which,  dry  and  shining,  made  a  faint  ringing  sound  as  the  wearer 
moved.  Around  the  left  wrist  was  a  small  strip  or  bracelet  of  un¬ 
dressed  deer  skin,  worn  by  women  as  well  as  by  men.  The  women 
were  rarely  ornamented  in  any  wa}r,  were  generally  plain,  short  of 
stature,  stout  and  usually  disagreeable  looking  and  exceedingly 
dirty,  as  were  also  the  men. 

There  seemed  to  be  almost  no  J’oung  girls  among  them  and  very 
few  children  or  infants  ;  caresses  or  fond  expressions  were  almost 
never  used,  yet  there  was  evidently  an  affectionate  recognition 
of  the  parental  tie,  on  the  part  of  the  mother  at  least ;  but  never 
was  any  responsive  tenderness  observed  in  a  child.  The  dress 
was  simply  a  waist  cloth  worn  by  the  men,  with  a  skirt  of  deer 
skin  of  exquisite  softness  for  the  women.  The  addition  of  a  blan¬ 
ket,  thrown  over  the  shoulders,  was  the  only  other  article  of  cloth¬ 
ing.  The  children,  till  about  ten  years  of  age,  were  unclothed. 

They  were  surly  in  their  general  aspect,  averse  to  conversation, 
and  the  deep  guttural  of  their  language,  as  they  occasionally 
talked  with  each  other,  always  with  averted  faces,  left  the  impres¬ 
sion  of  extreme  fatigue.  They  were  exceedingly  dirty  in  all  their 
habits  and  had  probably  never  known  the  voluntary  application  of 
water ;  their  continual  wading  in  the  salt  water,  however,  kept 
them  cleaner  than  might  be  supposed,  but  the  odor  of  the  shark’s 
oil  with  which  they  habitually  anointed  their  entire  bodies  as  pro¬ 
tection  against  mosquitoes,  rendered  them  very  offensive, 
p.  M.  papers,  i.  6. 


81 


18 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARANCAITCA  INDIANS. 


Once  in  a  while  the}'  held  a  sort  of  solemn  festival ,  or  religious 
ceremonial,  of  what  particular  significance  could  not  be  exactly 
discovered.  It  was  always  celebrated  at  the  full  moon  and  after 
a  very  successful  hunt  or  fishing  expedition.  A  number  of  In¬ 
dians,  who  all  happened  to  be  together  at  the  time,  assembled  in 
a  tent  which  had  been  enlarged  for  the  purpose,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  small  fire,  upon  which  boiled  a  very  strong  and  black 
decoction  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  youpon  tree.  From  time 
to  time,  this  was  stirred  with  a  sort  of  whisk,  till  the  top  was  cov¬ 
ered  thickly  with  a  yellowish  froth.  This  “  tea,”  contained  in  a 
vessel  of  clay  of  their  own  manufacture,  was  handed  round  occa¬ 
sionally  and  all  the  Indians  drank  freely.  It  was  very  bitter  and 
said  to  be  intoxicating,  but  if  so  it  could  only  have  been  when 
drunk  to  great  excess  as  it  never  seemed  to  produce  any  visible 
effect  upon  the  Indians.  These,  seated  in  a  row  round  the  inside 
of  the  tent,  looked  very  grave  and  almost  solemn. 

One  tall  Indian,  probably  a  chief,  stood  within  the  circle  and 
passed  round  and  round  the  fire,  chanting  in  a  monotonous  tone. 
He  was  a  grotesque  figure,  being  wrapped  up  to  his  head  in  skins, 
and  his  face  concealed  ;  his  long,  black  hair  streamed  over  his 
back,  and  lie  bent  nearly  double  as  he  moved  about,  seldom  rais¬ 
ing  himself  to  an  erect  posture.  The  chant  rose  and  fell  in  a 
melancholy  sort  of  cadence,  and  occasionally  all  the  Indians  joined 
in  the  chorus  which  was  Ha'-i-yah,  Ila'-i-yah  ;  hai ,  hai'yah,  hai'yah, 
hai'-yah.  The  first  two  words  were  shouted  slowly,  then  a  loud 
hai',  then  a  succession  of  liai'-yahs  very  rapidly  uttered  in  chromatic 
ascending  and  descending  tones,  ending  in  an  abrupt  hai ! !  very 
loud  and  farreaching.  There  were  three  instruments  of  music,  upon 
which  the  Indians  accompanied  the  chant.  One,  alarge gourd  filled 
with  small  stones,  or  shot,  was  frequently  shaken  ;  another  was  a 
fluted  piece  of  wood,  which  was  held  upon  the  knees  of  the  player 
and  over  which  a  stick  was  quickly  drawn  producing  a  droning 
noise  ;  the  third  was  a  kind  of  rude  flute,  upon  which  no  air  was 
played,  but  which  was  softly  blown  in  time  to  the  chant. 

This  “  fandango”  was  always  kept  up  all  night,  and  as  the  hours 
went  on  the  chanting  became  louder  and  more  weird,  and  the  fire, 
allowed  to  burn  up  furiously,  illuminated  the  earth  and  sky,  pro¬ 
ducing,  altogether,  a  frightful  effect. 

The  day  following  was  always  a  quiet  one  and  the  Indians  slept 
or  moved  languidly  about.  If,  as  sometimes  happened,  they  had 
82 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARANCAHUA  INDIANS. 


19 


obtained  some  whiskey,  it  was  used  instead  of  the  youpon  tea,  and 
then  the  Indians  became  intoxicated,  very  quarrelsome  and  often 
really  dangerous,  fighting  among  themselves  and  lurking  about  the 
dwellings  of  the  settlers,  stealing  from  them  articles  of  food  or 
household  utensils,  and  begging  continually — rarely  willing  to  per¬ 
form  the  slightest  task  whatever  the  offered  reward. 

In  regard  to  any  sacredness  of  feeling,  or  particular  rites  in  ref¬ 
erence  to  the  burial  of  their  dead,  they  seemed  entirely  indifferent. 
No  place  of  sepulture  belonging  to  them  ever  was  alluded  to  by 
them,  or  ever  discovered,  and  wherever  one  of  the  tribe  died  there 
he  was  also  interred. 

The  peculiar  distinctive  marks  of  the  tribe  were  :  a  small  circle 
of  blue  tattooed  over  either  cheek-bone,  one  horizontal  line  ex¬ 
tending  from  the  outer  angle  of  the  eye  toward  the  ear  and  three 
perpendicular  parallel  lines,  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  apart,  on 
the  chin  from  the  middle  of  the  lower  lip  downward,  and  two  others 
under  each  corner  of'  the  mouth. 

Their  method  of  communicating  with  each  other,  when  parties 
were  at  a  distance,  was  by  smoke.  By  some  means  known  only  to 
themselves  and  carefully  kept  secret,  the  smoke  of  a  small  fire  could 
be  made  to  ascend  in  many  different  ways,  as  intelligible  as  spoken 
language  to  them.  At  night  the  horizon  was  often  dotted  in  vari¬ 
ous  directions  with  these  little  fires,  and  the  messages  thus  con¬ 
veyed  seemed  to  determine  the  movements  of  the  Indians. 

They  were  strictly  silent  upon  the  subject  of  their  marriage  cere¬ 
monies,  though  they  certainly  did  not  practise  polygamy,  but  be¬ 
tween  husband  and  wife  there  was  always  a  perfect  indifference  in 
manner. 

It  is  believed  that  at  the  present  time  not  one  of  this  tribe  of  In¬ 
dians  is  in  existence  and  these  few  lines  are  their  only  memorial. 

AN  ANECDOTE. 

The  Indian  of  song  and  stoiy,  the  Indian  immortalized  by 
Cooper  was  certainly  a  very  different  being  in  his  noble,  generous 
impulses  and  his  glorious,  self-sacrificing  life,  from  the  type  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  Carancalmas,  whose  character  seemed  entirely  desti¬ 
tute  of  heroic  traits.  Recollection  furnishes  only  one  instance,  in 
an  experience  of  years,  of  generous  kindness. 

A  young  daughter  of  a  settler  on  Matagorda  bay  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  interchanging  kindly  courtesies  with  the  wife  of  one  of  the 
chiefs,  who  manifested  some  attachment  to  her. 


83 


20 


NOTES  ON  THE  CARANCAHUA  INDIANS. 


This  young  girl  was  exceedingly  sick  during  several  weeks  of 
a  particularly  hot  summer,  when  a  fearful  drought  prevailed  and 
water  was  very  scarce  and  brackish.  A  newly  finished  and  very 
capacious  rain-water  cistern  had  long  awaited  the  anticipated  rain, 
which  was  withheld  till  all  animal  and  vegetable  life  seemed  perish¬ 
ing.  A  party  of  Indians,  among  which  were  the  chief  and  his  wife,  of 
whom  mention  has  been  made,  had  been  encamping  near  the  home 
of  the  young  girl  and  of  course  knew  of  her  sickness.  They  had 
left  for  the  home  of  another  settler,  about  three  miles  distant  across 
the  bay,  where  there  was  a  cistern,  filled  by  the  last  rain,  with  pure, 
fresh  water. 

The  night  after  their  departure,  the  family  of  the  first  settler 
were  aroused  about  midnight  by  a  fearful  noise  and  tumult,  and  on 
seeing  in  the  moonlight  the  forms  of  several  Indians,  were  ex¬ 
tremely  alarmed  and  excited.  The  settler,  a  man  of  remarkable 
courage  and  always  hitherto  upon  friendly  terms  with  the  Indians, 
rushed  down  stairs,  rifle  in  hand  and  found  three  or  four  of  his 
hired  men,  who  had  been  sleeping  upon  the  piazza,  also  with  their 
guns,  prepared  to  defend  themselves  against  a  supposed  treach¬ 
erous  attack  of  the  Indians.  As  soon  as  the  master  of  the  house 
appeared,  the  Indians,  who  had  been  apparently  trying  to  explain 
the  cause  of  their  appearance,  came  toward  him  with  outstretched 
hands,  and  the  chief,  presenting  a  large  jug,  which  had  been  con¬ 
cealed  by  his  blanket,  said  in  his  few  words  of  English:  “You 
water  no  good  —  you  Alice  sick — here,  water  good — Alice  drink.” 
The  gratitude  and  delight  of  the  father  cannot  be  expressed,  and 
the  Indians  returned  to  their  tents  loaded  with  gifts. 

Lynn,  3Iciss.,  Oct.  30,  1888. 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


Br  ALBERT  S.  GATSCIIET, 

Of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology . 


Omnes  illacrimabiles 
urguentur  ignotique  longa 
node;  carent  quia  vate  sacro. 

Our  historic  information  concerning  the  once  populous  Texan 
nation  of  the  Karankawa  is  an  average  specimen  of  the  fragmentary 
manner  in  which  Indian  history  and  the  general  history  of  man¬ 
kind  as  well  is  transmitted  to  our  knowledge.  Chance  and  fate,  pow¬ 
ers  uncontrollable  by  the  human  species,  decide  whether  we  are  to 
have  any  knowledge  or  not  of  an  important  people  or  of  its  note¬ 
worthy  rulers  or  public  characters;  fires,  floods,  tornadoes,  wars 
and  the  ravages  of  time  have  often  destroyed  the  only  documents 
left  of  the  literature  of  a  people,  or  of  its  style  of  architecture  and 
art ;  or  when  something  has  come  down  to  our  times,  which  testifies 
to  their  existence,  we  often  have  to  scrape  together  our  informa¬ 
tion  from  the  most  insignificant  and  minute  sources,  frequently  dis¬ 
torted  by  unsafe,  traditional  reports. 

To  render  our  knowledge  of  the  past  still  more  checkered  and  un¬ 
equal,  insignificant  towns  and  tribes  are  often  described  at  length 
and  the  deeds  of  their  petits  grands  liommes  extolled  beyond  meas¬ 
ure.  Why?  Only  because  they  happened  to  exist  in  the  vicinity 
of  literary  centres,  or  of  men  of  culture  who  filled  their  leisure  hours 
in  writing  their  biographies  or  chronicles.  At  other  times  events  of 
little  importance  are  magnified  into  deeds  of  consequence,  while 
men  of  heroic  mind  or  eminent  capacities  are  misrepresented  as 
being  mere  common-place  individuals. 

With  our  knowledge  of  the  Karankawa  Indians  chance  has 
played  a  capricious  game  as  well  as  with  that  of  many  other  tribes. 
Although  their  tribe  figures  as  a  people  of  consequence  in  Texan 
colonial  history,  the  information  left  us  by  the  chroniclers  of  the 
times  does  not  give  the  necessary  points  enabling  us  to  classify 

85 


22 


THE  KARASKAWA  INDIANS. 


them  according  to  race  and  language.  Their  records  report  that 
cruelties  were  inflicted  by  them  upon  harmless  settlers;  they  dis¬ 
cuss  their  bodily  appearance,  their  weapons,  implements  and  ca¬ 
noes,  with  some  of  their  customs,  but  they  are  silent  concerning 
their  religious  ideas,  their  migrations,  their  tribal  government,  and 
especially  their  language,  which  is  the  most  important  character¬ 
istic  of  each  tribe,  and  we  have  to  deplore  that  even  in  our  scien¬ 
tific  age  so  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  tongues  of  primitive  na¬ 
tions. 

What  our  predecessors  in  Texan  ethnography  have  failed  to 
transmit  to  us,  we  can  in  a  small  degree  supply  now,  by  drawing 
our  conclusions  from  all  the  disjecta  membra  of  Karaukawa  history 
and  tradition.  There  is  a  considerable  number  of  these  discon¬ 
nected  notices  to  be  found,  more  than  of  many  other  western  or 
southwestern  tribes,  but  as  to  their  language,  probably  no  living  in¬ 
dividual  can  inform  us  now  about  its  strange  accents  and  primitive 
vocabulary  beyond  what  we  here  present. 

For  convenience  I  have  subdivided  the  historical  facts  concern¬ 
ing  this  people  into  four  sections  : 

J.  The  Ivarankawa  people  from  the  earliest  historic  times  down 
to  1835,  the  beginning  of  Texan  independence. 

II.  Other  Indian  tribes  of  the  Texan  littoral. 

III.  Tribal  synonymy  of  the  Karankawas. 

IV.  The  Ivarankawa  tribe  after  1835  ;  its  decline  and  extinction. 

Then  follow  : 

V.  Ethnographic  sketch  of  the  Ivarankawa  Indians. 

VI.  Treatise  upon  the  Ivarankawa  language. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  January,  1890. 


NOTES  ON  KARANKAWA  HISTORY. 


I.  THE  KARANKAWA  PEOPLE  PROM  THE  DISCOVERY  DOWN 
TO  THE  YEAR  1835. 

Primosque  et  extremos  metendo 
stravit  humum  sine  ( clade )  victor. 

The  earliest  report  we  possess  on  the  coast  tribes  among  which 
the  Karankawas  have  dwelt  during  the  historic  period,  is  contained 
in  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  of  the  “Naufragios”  composed  by  Alvar 
Nunez  Cabega  tie  Vaca,  one  of  the  four  men  who  were  saved  from 
the  unfortunate  expedition  of  Pamfilo  de  Narvaez.  From  1527  he 
subsisted  for  seven  years  among  the  coast  tribes,  destitute  of  every 
thing,  even  of  garments,  but  as  a  trader  and  medical  practitioner 
lie  managed  to  earn  a  scanty  living.  He  thus  became  acquainted 
with  many  tribes,  even  of  the  interior  tracts,  and  gives  descriptions 
of  them  in  his  above-mentioned  record.  Among  the  coast  tribes  he 
mentions  the  Caoques,  Han,  Chorruco,  Doguenes,  Mendica,  Que- 
venes,  Mariames,  Guaycones,  Quitoles,  Camoles,  los  de  los  Higos.1 
None  of  these  can  be  identified  with  the  tribes  known  in  later 
times  as  the  Karankawas  or  the  Ebahamos  (to  be  described  be¬ 
low),  though  some  of  them  must  have  lived  in  the  same  districts. 

Joutel ,  the  companion  of  Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salie  on  his  last 
and  unfortunate  expedition,  has  left  a  journal  of  his  travels,  in 
which  he  mentions  the  Koienkalie  among  the  tribes  living  north  of 
the  Maligne  river,  and  also  the  Kouyam  and  the  Quouan  in  the 
same  tracts  (Margry,  Decouvertes  iii,  288  ;  date  :  February,  1687). 
In  another  edition  of  this  journal,  the  Koienkalie  are  called  Koren- 
kake,2  and  placed  between  St.  Louis  bay  and  the  Maligne  river. 
In  the  Korenkake  and  the  misspelt  Koienkalie  we  easily  recognize 

’Barcia,  Ilistoriadores  Primitivos  de  las  Indias  occidentals,  etc.,  Madrid,  1719.  Yol. 
I,  No.  6.  The  customs  are  described  in  chapter  25 ;  (eli.  25  rorao  los  Indies  son  prestos 
a  un  arma) ;  ch.  26  :  De  las  naciones  i  lenguas ;  here  he  says  :  “En  la  isla  de  Malhado 
(where  he  landed)  ai  dos  lenguas  :  a  los  linos  llaman  de  Caoques,  i  a  los  otros  Human  de 
Kan.  Adelante.en  la  costa  del  mar  habitan  los  Doguenes,  i  enfrente  deelloslos  deMen- 
dica,”etc.  If  any  of  the  locations  described  by  him  were  held  by  Karankawas,  they  were 
probably  those  of  the  Caoques  and  the  Han,  who  both  lived  on  a  sandbar.  H.  H.  Ban¬ 
croft,  Works,  xv,  p.  64,  believes  that  the  Isla  del  Malhado  was  in  San  Antonio  Bay. 

2B.  F.  French,  Histor.  Collections  of  La.,  I,  134  sqq. 


87 


24 


THE  KAliANKAWA  PEOPLE 


the  Karankawa  Indians,  while  the  Qnouan,  in  French  spelling,  ap¬ 
pear  to  be  the  Cujanos. 

Long  lists  of  other  Indian  tribes  are  added  to  these  passages, 
subdivided  into  tribes  living  north  and  in  others  living  west  and 
northwest  of  the  Maligne river.  Where  the  exploring  party  crossed 
this  river,  it  was  as  wide  as  the  Seine  at  Rouen  and  probably  it 
was  the  Colorado  river  of  the  present  da}'.  Some  of  these  tribal 
names  have  the  ring  of  Karankavva  words,  but  since  many  are  writ¬ 
ten  differently  in  the  two  lists,1  we  cannot  attempt  to  analyze  any 
of  them  here.  The  tribes  permanently  hostile  to  the  people  among 
whom  the  expedition  was  then  staying,  lived  to  the  southwest, 
toward  the  Rio  Grande. 

Joutel  then  adds  a  short  ethnographic  notice  upon  the  habits  and 
customs  of  these  coast  people  (Margry,  Dec.  in,  286-292),  whom 
he  had  leisure  enough  to  study  before  the  expedition  started  on  its 
way  northeast.  They  seemed  to  be  peaceable  and  rather  timid 
than  obtrusive  ;  except  during  the  heavy  “northers”  the  male  sex 
went  about  in  a  perfectly  nude  state,  while  the  females  wore  skins 
reaching  from  the  belt  to  the  knees.  They  had  baskets  and  made 
some  pottery  for  cooking  their  victuals ;  the}’  possessed  horses, 
which  they  could  have  obtained  only  from  the  Spaniards;  the  dogs 
seen  among  them  were  voiceless ,  their  ears  were  straight  and  their 
snouts  were  like  those  of  foxes.  When  upon  the  Maligne  river, 
the  horses  were  always  seen  fleeing  whenever  Indians  were  ap¬ 
proaching,  or  bathing  in  the  current  of  the  river  (p.  286).  Whether 
these  Indians  had  any  idea  of  religion,  Joutel  was  unable  to  ascer¬ 
tain  ;  when  questioned  they  pointed  to  the  sky,  and  the  Frenchmen 
were  regarded  by  them  “almost  as  spirits”  (p.  292). 

This  author  also  relates  that  R.  C.  de  la  Salle  enjoined  his  men 
to  treat  these  Indians  with  care  and  propriety  and  made  small  pres¬ 
ents  to  them  to  keep  them  in  good  humor  ;  for,  said  he,  if  a  con¬ 
flict  should  occur  between  us  and  these  savages,  we  would  be  too 
small  in  numbers  to  resist  them  successfully. 

Among  the  tribes  mentioned  in  that  vicinity  is  that  of  the  Eba- 
lmmo ,  Ilebohamos,  Bahamos  or  Braeamos.  Joutel  states  in  his 
narrative  (French,  Ilist.  Coll.  La.,  i,  134)  that  de  la  Salle  took  a 
vocabulary  of  their  language,  which  is  very  different  from  that  of 
the  Cenis  and  more  difficult ;  that  they  were  neighbors  and  allies 
of  the  Cenis  and  understood  part  of  their  language.  Cavelier  (in 

1  One  list  in  Margry.  Dec.,  and  the  other  in  E.  F.  French. 


88 


TO  THE  TEAR  1835. 


25 


Shea,  Early  Voyages,  p.  22)  states  that  the  “Bracamos”  dwelt  near 
the  fort  and  that  the  French  tried  to  cultivate  their  friendship 
(March,  1685).  Delisle’s  map  (about  1707?)  places  them  west  of 
a  river  emptying  into  the  St.  Louis  (or  St.  Bernard)  ba}%  Fort 
Louis  being  on  the  mouth  of  said  river,  west  shore.1  Father  Douay 
mentions  them  as  being  hostile  to  the  tribe  of  the  Quinets.2  Their 
name  resembles  the  Karankawa  term  behema,  which  is  mentioned 
in  our  vocabulary.  After  that  no  further  mention  of  them  is  made 
in  the  annals  or  documents. 

When  Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  returned  to  these  parts,  early  in 
the  year  1687,  he  made  explorations  from  Fort  Saint  Louis,  which 
he  had  previously  built  upon  St.  Louis  bay  (part  of  Matagorda 
bay)  into  the  surrounding  districts.  On  one  of  these  excur¬ 
sions  he  took  away  from  the  Clamcoet  Indians  some  canoes  to  sail 
up  one  of  the  rivers  emptying  into  the  ba}',  and  to  establish  a  set¬ 
tlement.  They  felt  enraged  at  this  act,  and  although  peace  was 
made,  their  passions  were  aroused.  When  the}'  heard  of  La  Salle’s 
departure  and  assassination  they  attacked  the  (twenty  or  more) 
French  men  and  women  left  in  the  fort  at  a  time  when  they  were 
off  their  guard  and  massacred  all  but  five  (1687).  Those  who 
were  spared  underwent  no  punishment  except  painful  tattooing  and 
being  compelled  to  follow  the  Indians  on  their  hunts  and  war-ex¬ 
peditions.3  In  1689  these  French  people  were  rescued  by  a  Span¬ 
ish  expedition  under  Don  Alonso  de  Leon.4  That  the  Clamcoet, 
or  as  they  were  also  called,  Quelanhubeches,  are  the  same  people 
as  the  Karankawas  will  soon  appear. 

After  the  close  of  the  Spanish  succession  war,  the  government 
of  Spain  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  French  encroachments  upon  ter¬ 
ritories  which  it  considered  to  be  its  own,  by  occupying  the  im¬ 
mense  country  now  known  as  Texas  and  establishing  colonies,  forts 
and  missions  upon  its  area.  The  Sabine  river  was  to  be  the  limit 
between  French  Louisiana  and  the  new  Spanish  possession,  which 
went  under  different  names  (provincia  de  las  tecas,  provincia  de 
las  Nuevas  Filipinas  were  the  names  for  the  portion  east  of  Me¬ 
dina  river)  and  governors  were  installed  in  two  fortified  places, 
Nacogdoches  and  San  Antonio  de  Bejar. 

'Map  reproduced  in  J.  YVinsor,  Hist.  Amer.,  u,  294. 

2Shea,  Early  Voyages,  p.  21  (note). 

sCf.  Interrogatory  of  P.  and  J.  Talon,  in  Margry,  Decouv.  et  Etabl.,  in,  613-61S. 

CBarcia,  Ensayo,  p.  294.  Shea,  Disco v.,  p.  2 US  (note). 


89 


26 


THE  KARAXKAWA  PEOPLE 


Not  long  after  this  (since  1716)  a  number  of  missions  were  es¬ 
tablished  to  christianize  the  natives  and  from  that  time  onward  we 
possess  some  historical  though  scanty  information  upon  the  Texan 
tribes.  Not  all  of  these  missions  had  churches  or  other  buildings 
erected  within  their  areas,  as  was  done  on  a  large  scale  in  and 
around  San  Antonio  de  Bejar  and  in  the  southern  part  of  Califor¬ 
nia,  but  in  many  of  them  the  curate  became  an  itinerant  teacher 
and  adviser  of  the  natives  to  be  converted.  This  was  the  case,  e.g., 
upon  the  lower  Kio  Grande  and  probably  also  in  some  of  the  mis¬ 
sions  of  eastern  Texas.1 

Although  Spanish  domination  was  now  firmly  established  through¬ 
out  Texas, — at  least  in  the  southern  parts  of  what  is  now  Texas — 
but  little  is  transmitted  to  us  about  the  natives  of  those  parts  dur¬ 
ing  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  state  documents 
preserved  in  Austin  do  not  begin  earlier  than  1740.  From  French 
writers  of  the  period  we  gather  a  few  points  which  probably  refer 
to  the  Karankawas  or  some  people  closely  cognate  with  them. 

A  French  officer,  Simars  de  Belle-Isle,  was  exploring  the  west¬ 
ern  countries  and  had  the  misfortune  of  being  captured  by  the  In¬ 
dians.  lie  lived  fifteen  months  in  slavery  among  a  people  of  an- 
thropophagists  residing  at  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard,  one  of  the  seats 
of  the  Karankawas,  from  1719  to  1721,  and  when  released  and  re¬ 
turned  to  the  French  colony  on  the  Mississippi  river,  the  narrative 
of  his  tragic  fate  excited  the  compassion  of  his  countrymen  to  such 
a  degree  that  all  the  contemporaneous  writers  on  Louisiana  refer 
to  it.2 

Contemporaneously  with  de  Belle-Isle’s  stay  among  these  na¬ 
tives,  Benard  de  laPIarpe  relates  that  Beranger,  in  1720,  found  an- 
thropophagists  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  leagues  west  of  the 
Mississippi  river  (by  sea)  in  Lat.  25°  45',  on  what  he  thought  to 
be  St.  Bernard  bay.3 

Sixty  years  after  these  events,  Mil-fort,  a  French  commander, 
passed  through  southern  Texas  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  war¬ 
riors  of  the  Creek  or  Maskoki  nation  of  Alabama,  and  five  days 
travel  west  of  St.  Bernard  bay  met  a  tribe  called  Atacapas,  who 
were  anthropophagists,  as  this  name  designates,  which  is  taken 

1  A  comprehensive  historic  sketch  of  Texan  missionary  establishments  will  be  found 
in  H.  H.  Bancroft,  Hist,  of  the  North  Mexican  States,  I,  p.  609  (whole  vol.  xv). 

2  Of.  his  own  report  in  Margry,  Dec.  et  Etabl.  VI,  320-351,  and  what  Le  Page  du 
Pratz,  Hist,  of  La.  (175S)  and  Bossu  (1771 )  state  about  him. 

s  French,  Hist.  Coll,  of  La.,  in,  78,  79;  cf.  ibid..  96-99. 

SO 


TO  THE  TEAR  1835. 


27 


from  the  Cka’hta  language.  In  extenuation  of  this  charge  Milfort 
states,  that  “they  do  not  eat  men,  but  roast  them  only,  on  account 
of  the  cruelties  first  practised  against  their  ancestors  by  the  Span¬ 
iards.”1 

Whether  this  last  statement  rests  upon  a  misunderstanding  or 
has  to  be  regarded  as  a  cruel  irony,  the  fact  is  certain  that  these 
people  were  anthropophagists  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  authentic  and  documentary  proofs  that  all  the  orig¬ 
inal  (not  all  the  intrusive)  Texan  tribes  were  man-eaters  are  too  nu¬ 
merous  to  permit  any  doubt  of  this  fact.  The  Tonkawe,  the  In¬ 
dians  on  the  lower  Rio  Grande,  the  numerous  Assinai  (Cenis,  now 
Caddo)  tribes,  and  the  Atakapa  of  southwestern  Louisiana  were 
all  given  to  this  horrible  practice,  and  even  at  the  present  day  the 
Tonkawe  state  that  human  flesh  tastes  like  bear  meat.  Anthro- 
pophagism  was  also  common  among  some  Algonquin  and  Iroquois 
tribes  settled  around  the  great  Canadian  lakes.  Ethnologists  who 
through  false  philanthropy  revoke  in  doubt  the  historic  statements 
which  prove  the  fact,  have  never  been  able  to  controvert  these  tes¬ 
timonies  ;  they  have  only  shown  thereby  their  inability  to  place 
themselves  into  the  state  of  mind  of  an  aboriginal  American  sav¬ 
age.  The  two  brothers  Talon  stated  in  their  examination,  that  the 
Clamcoet  did  not  eat  the  bodies  of  the  slain  Frenchmen,  but  were 
in  the  habit  of  eating  those  of  their  Indian  antagonists.  Jean- 
Baptiste  Talon  said,  that  they  offered  him  the  flesh  of  Ayonai 
Indians  during  three  days,  but  that  he  preferred  to  die  of  hunger 
than  to  accept  this  food.2 

Other  instances  of  anthropophagy  among  the  southern  tribes  are 
numerous  about  that  period.  In  1719  Benard  de  la  Harpe  reports 
that  it  existed  among  the  Tawakaros3  and  the  Wichitas,  who  in  one 
feast  had  eaten  seventeen  Cancys  (Apaches).4  Panis  and  Padu- 
kas  (Comanches)  devoured  each  other’s  prisoners  of  war,  as  nar¬ 
rated  by  the  same  officer  in  1 7 1 9 .5  One  of  the  manifold  motives 
for  cannibalism  was  probably  the  expectation  of  depriving  the  dead 
of  the  possibility  of  living  a  second  life  and  of  taking  revenge. 
In  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America  anthropophagy  was  more 
frequent  and  widespread  than  in  the  northern  continent. 

At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  we  meet  with  some  Spanish- 

1  General  Milfort,  M^moive  ou  coup  d’oeil  rapide  sur  mes  diflerents  voyages  et  mon 
s^jour  dans  la  nation  Creek.  Paris.  An.  XI  (1802),  p.  00. 

a  P.  Mavgry,  Dec.  et  Etabl.  Ill,  p.  616.  3  Identical  with  the  Tawakoni. 

4  Margry,  Dec.  vi,  202.  6  Margry,  Dec.  vi,  312. 


91 


28 


THE  KARANKAWA  PEOPLE 


Mexican  documents  which  give  us  an  insight  into  the  civil  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  Karankawa  and  of  some  of  the  coast  tribes  of  their 
neighborhood. 

A  document  preserved  in  the  state  archives  in  Austin,  consulted 
by  me  in  December,  1884,  is  dated  1793  and  mentions  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  missions  among  the  Karankawas  on  Colorado  river,  among 
the  Cocos  (perhaps  near  Sabine  river),  the  Horcoquisas  on  lower 
Trinity  river,  and  among  the  Comanches.  “It  is  impossible  to 
christianize  the  Carancahuazes  of  the  Colorado  on  account  of  the 
close  friendship  which  they  entertain  with  the  Lipans  . 

The  Carancahuazes  originated  and  came  from  the  coast  and  during: 
summer  continually  live  upon  the  islands,  in  winter  in  the  sur¬ 
roundings  of  Refugio.  For  their  crossings  and  fisheries  they  pos¬ 
sess  canoes,  and  there  is  also  abundance  of  fish  in  the  Nueces  bay 
or  river  (en  las  Nuezes)  ;  they  like  to  visit  the  bay  (las  lagunas) 
and  the  coast,  as  there  are  quantities  of  cactus- figs  around  it.  From 
all  this  it  appears  how  troublesome  it  would  be  for  these  Indians 
to  give  up  their  own  territory ;  it  is  also  important  for  us  to  have 
control  of  the  Port  of  Mata  Gorda,  and  hence  the  site  selected  [for 
their  mission]  at  Refugio  seems  the  best,  as  the  lands  there  will 
never  become  deficient  of  the  larger  game,  necessary  for  their  sus¬ 
tenance  ;  .  .  it  will  be  necessary  to  establish  a  new  fort  (presidio) 
upon  the  spot  proposed  for  locating  the  Carancahuazes  upon  Colo¬ 
rado  river,  which  will  be  distant  about  twenty  leagues  from  the  site 
of  Nuestra  Sehora  del  Refugio,  where  the  other  Carancahuazes 
live  under  the  superintendence  of  Father  Garza.” 

Refugio  is  the  county  seat  of  Refugio  county  and  lies  below  the 
confluence  of  La  Vaca  and  Medio  creeks,  midway  between  Corpus 
Christi  and  Victoria,  about  28°  40'  Lat.  It  is  distant  about  one 
hundred  miles  in  a  southwestern  direction  from  Matagorda  town, 
which  is  built  at  the  outlet  of  Colorado  river.  It  appears  that 
individuals  of  the  Karankawa  people  were  then  settled  at  two 
places  at  least,  and  were  changing  their  habitations  with  the  sea¬ 
sons  of  the  year.  The  Spaniards  were  in  the  habit  of  peopling 
their  missions  with  the  Indians  of  the  neighboring  tribes  by  using 
military  force.  The  mission  of  Nuestra  Seuora  de  Refugio  was 
established  in  1790  and  had  sixty-seven  Indians  in  1793  (II.  II. 
Bancroft,  Vol.  xv,  p.  333).  A  census  taken  in  1814  shows  one 
hundred  and  ninety  individuals  settled  there  (Texas  State  Ar¬ 
chives). 

92 


TO  THE  YEAR  1835. 


29 


Another  mission,  where  some  Karankawas  had  been  settled  with 
Aranama  Indians  and  perhaps  with  other  tribes  also,  was  La  Bahia 
del  Espiritu  Santo,  on  the  southern  bank  of  San  Antonio  river, 
and  lying  a  little  below  the  city  of  Goliad.  A  short  distance  sep¬ 
arated  it  from  Refugio,  which  is  almost  due  south  ;  a  census  of 
the  mission  taken  in  1789  shows  eighty-two  individuals.1  Miih- 
lenpfordt’s  work  “der  Freistaat  Mexico”  (1842),  n,  120,  even  places 
the  original  sites  of  the  Karankawa  between  Goliad  or  La  Bahia 
and  Aransas  (Aranzaso),  and  for  doing  this  he  must  have  had 
some  documentary  evidence  before  him. 

A  document  of  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  dated  1796 
and  extracted  by  Orozco  y  Berra  in  his  “Geografia  de  las  Lenguas 
de  Mexico”  (1864),  p.  382,  proves  that  the  land  occupied  by  the 
Lipans  of  the  lower  countries  bordered  east  upon  those  of  the  Ka¬ 
rankawas  and  the  Borrados.2 

The  reports  concerning  this  coast  people,  which  date  from  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  differ  considerably  from  the 
earlier  ones  by  the  constant  references  made  to  the  unparalleled 
ferocity  and  cruelty  and  the  desultory,  unforeseen  attacks  of  these 
“barbarians.”  Horrible  stories  are  still  told  by  the  descendants 
of  the  settlers  of  the  cannibalistic  atrocities  practised  upon  the  iso¬ 
lated  families  of  their  ancestors  who  had  settled  in  the  coast  tracts. 
Not  only  the  whites  felt  the  rage  of  these  aborigines,  who  began 
to  see  that  gradually  their  coast  lands  would  slip  from  their  hith¬ 
erto  almost  undisputed  control,  but  also  intertribal  contests  with 
the  Lipans,  Aranamas,  Tonkawe,  Bidai  and  chiefly  with  the  Co- 
manches,  whom  they  greatly  feared,3  called  the  Karankawa  war¬ 
riors  to  arms  and  inflicted  heavy  losses  upon  them  before  Texas 
became  an  independent  commonwealth.  Captain  Thomas  Bridges 

1  La  Bahia  del  Espiritu  Santo  was  founded  as  a  presidio  in  1722  on  the  site  of  dela 
Salle’s  Fort  St.  Louis  on  La  Vaca  river ;  transferred  to  the  San  Antonio  river  about  1721 ; 
moved  up  the  river  to  its  final  site  opposite  Goliad  in  1719.  In  17S2  its  population  was 
five  hundred  and  fifteen.  H.  H.  Bancroft,  Works,  Vol.  xv,  633. 

5  Borrados  or  “Indians  painted  in  stripes.”  The  passage  runs  as  follows :  “Los  Li- 
panes  so  dividen  en  dos  clases  nombradas  de  arriba  y  de  abajo,  con  referencia  al  curso 

del  Rio  Grande,  cuyas  agnas  los  bafian . Los  de  abajo  tienen  sus  alternati- 

vas  de  paz  y  guerra  con  los  indios  carancaguaces  y  borrados  que  habitan  la  marisma. 

.  .  .  .  Por  el  oriente  sus  limites  son  los  caranguaces  y  borrados,  provineia  de  Tejas; 
por  el  sur  nuestra  frontera.” 

3  Maillard,  N.  D.,  the  History  of  the  Republic  of  Texas;  p.  251  sqq.  (London,  1842, 
8vo)states  thatthe “Carancahuas  aboutthe  year  1796 commenced  a  sanguinary  war  with 
the  Comanches,  which  lasted  for  several  years.” 


93 


30  THE  KARANKAWA  PEOPLE 

used  to  state,  that  from  1800  up  to  his  time  about  thirty  war  par¬ 
ties,  and  not  more,  had  been  sent  out  by  these  Indians. 

The  ferocity  of  the  Karankawas  is  easily  accounted  for,  when  we 
consider  the  brutalities  which  they  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the 
white  people  who  came  to  deprive  them  of  their  fishing  grounds 
and  coast  tracts,  and  moreover  interfered  with  their  family  con¬ 
nections. 

While  Galveston  island  was  occupied  by  the  well-known  pirate 
Lafitte,  some  of  his  men  in  1818  abducted  one  of  the  Karankawa 
women.  To  revenge  this  injury,  about  three  hundred  of  these  In¬ 
dians  landed  on  the  sand-bar,  near  the  “Three  Trees.”  When  this 
became  known,  two  hundred  of  the  adventurers,  armed  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  immediate^  proceeded  down  the  island  to  meet 
the  Indians,  who  after  a  stubborn  fight  and  the  loss  of  about  thirty 
men  withdrew  to  the  mainland.  After  Lafitte  had  evacuated  his 
position  upon  that  island,1  Dr.  Parnell  visited  it  in  1821  to  hunt 
for  treasures  supposed  to  have  been  buried  there  by  the  freebooters. 
He  found  some  Indians,  attacked  them  and  put  them  to  flight.  The 
historian  Yoakum  believes  that  it  was  through  these  attacks  that 
the  Karankawas  subsequently  became  so  hostile  towards  the  colo¬ 
nists  following  in  the  wake  of  Stephen  Austin. 

In  1822  these  Indians  put  to  death  four  men  left  in  charge  of 
two  vessels  loaded  with  immigrants  and  goods,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado  river,  and  destroyed  the  goods. 

Encounters  between  the  settlers  and  the  Karankawa  Indians  oc¬ 
curred  not  only  on  the  coast,  but  also  in  the  upper  parts  of  the 
Texan  tide-water  section.  Thus  in  1823,  when  the  city  of  San 
Felipe  de  Austin  was  founded  on  the  lower  Brazos  river  by  Stephen 
Austin,  one  of  the  settlers  reported  that  a  number  of  Karankawas 
had  come  up  the  Colorado  river  and  encamped  at  the  mouth  of 
Skull  creek,  a  northwestern  affluent  of  the  Colorado  in  Colorado 
county,  fifteen  miles  below  his  settlement.2  From  their  ambush 
they'  killed  Loy  and  Alle}',  two  of  his  3'oung  friends  who  were  just 


‘  Quoted  from  H.  S.  Thrall,  Fictorinl  History  of  Texas  (1S79),  pp.  451,  who  also  gives 
some  of  the  incidents  below.  Lafitte,  who  died  1S26  in  Yucatan,  first  had  his  piratical 
headquarters,  lsl  1-1813,  on  Grande  Terre  island,  now  Barataria,  coast  of  Louisiana,  and 
fought  on  the  American  side  in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  (1815). 

3  W.  B.  Dewees,  Letters  from  an  early  settler  of  Texas;  Louisville,  1854;  pp.  37, 
3S  (letter  dated  Aug.  29,  1823).  He  also  mentions  having  seen  Tonkawe  Indians;  cf. 
p.  45. 


94 


TO  THE  TEAR  1835. 


31 


returning  in  their  boat  with  a  load  of  corn  ;  a  third  man,  Clarke, 
who  was  with  them  managed  to  escape,  though  severely  wounded. 
He  alarmed  the  settlers  on  the  day  following  ;  they  gathered,  am¬ 
bushed  the  Indians  and  killed  nine  of  them  on  one  spot  and  ten 
more  upon  the  prairie.  More  fights  occurred  on  Bay  prairie.  These 
Indians  are  described  by  him  as  tall  men  of  a  stout,  magnificent 
exterior,  as  excellent  bowmen  and  fierce  cannibals,  who  dwelt 
between  the  Brazos  and  Brazos  Santiago.1  Their  bows  were  as 
long  as  they  were  themselves  and  they  hit  their  mark  with  great  pre¬ 
cision  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  yards.  They  wore  beautiful 
plaits  of  hair. 

While  engaged  in  surveying  lands  in  1824,  Captain  Chriesman 
had  several  skirmishes  with  the  Karankawas  on  the  St.  Bernard 
river  and  Gulf  prairie.  The  severest  encounter  was  sustained  by 
a  compan}7  under  Captain  Randall  Jones  on  a  creek  in  Brazoria 
county,  since  called  Jones’  creek.  Fifteen  Indians  were  reported 
killed  and  the  whites  lost  three  men. 

The  destinies  of  this  littoral  nation  began  to  take  a  decisive 
turn  in  1825,  when  the  Anglo-American  colonists,  who  had  largely 
increased  in  numbers,  banded  together  to  rid  themselves  of  these 
predatory  Indians,  who  had  become  exasperated  by  their  frequent 
losses  of  warriors  and  revenged  themselves  by  stealing  and  murder¬ 
ing.  Col.  Austin  requested  Captain  Abner  Kuj'kendall  to  gather  a 
corps  of  volunteers  and  to  expel  the  Indians  from  his  land  grant, 
which  extended  west  to  the  La  Vaca  river.  The  Indians  were  routed 
and  while  the  troops  pursued  them,  they  were  met  at  the  Mana- 
huila  (or  Menawhila)  creek,3  six  miles  east  of  Goliad  city,  by  a 
Catholic  missionary  of  La  Bahia,  who  took  the  refugees  under  his 
protection.  He  conveyed  the  promise  of  these  Indians,  that  they 
would  never  show  themselves  again  east  of  the  LaVaca  river,  and 
this  promise  was  accepted.  But  they  did  not  keep  this  compact 
for  any  length  of  time  ;  portions  of  them  returned  to  the  Colo¬ 
rado  river,  committed  new  depredations  and  were  scourged  again 
by  the  colonists.3  This  defeat  is  evidently  the  same  event  which  is 
narrated  by  a  relative  of  Stephen  Austin,  Mrs.  Mary  Austin  Hol¬ 
ley,  in  her  book  :  Texas  (Lexington,  1836,  8vo,  with  map)  ;  she  is 

1  Near  the  southern  end  of  Padre  island,  Texas. 

1  An  affluent  of  San  Antonio  river  coming  from  the  northwest. 

3  Thrall,  p.  451.  Baker,  D.  W.  C.,  Texas  Scrap  Book,  1875;  an  article  taken  from 
Texas  Almanac,  1872,  and  composed  by  J.  II.  Kuykendall  is  inserted  there.  The  earlier 
volumes  of  the  Texas  Almanac  contain  many  articles  of  value  for  Indian  history. 


95 


32 


THE  KARANKAWA  PEOPLE  TO  THE  TEAR  1835. 


more  circumstantial  in  her  account,  but  fails  to  give  the  date  of 
the  occurrence.  In  this  she  is  equalled  by  many  other  chroniclers 
and  historians  of  the  west,  who  seem  to  think  that  history  can  be 
written  without  any  chronology. 

The  same  event  is  also  referred  to  in  a  sensational  article  on  this 
tribe  inserted  in  “The  Republic”  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  of  April 
13,  1889,  page  13,  which  appears  to  place  this  final  reduction  of 
the  Karankawas  after  the  time  they  had  massacred  the  inhabitants 
and  destroyed  the  town  of  Matagorda  in  1827  (?)  and  adds  an  in¬ 
cident  of  warfare  which  took  place  near  Old  Caney  and  Peach 
creek.  Not  the  least  regard  is  paid  to  the  causation  and  chrono¬ 
logic  order  of  historic  events. 

Among  the  earlier  American  settlers  it  was  an  admitted  fact, 
that  many  of  the  depredations  and  murders  committed  by  Indians 
on  isolated  farms  and  upon  inoffensive  hunting  parties  passing 
through  the  country  were  instigated  by  the  Mexican  population, 
who  regarded  the  Anglo-Americans  as  intruders  and  feared  their 
increasing  numbers.  Mrs.  Oliver  also  refers  to  the  fact  that  some 
Karankawas  together  with  other  Indians  formed  part  of  the  Mex¬ 
ican  army,  and  that  after  the  battle  of  the  Alamo  the  American 
settlers  retaliated  heavily  for  the  crimes  committed  b}^  them  with 
or  without  the  behest  of  their  Mexican  superiors.  This  brought 
them  into  submission  and  made  them  perceive  the  necessity  of  be¬ 
ing  on  better  terms  with  their  new  rulers. 

Their  losses  in  numbers  and  the  dissolute  mode  of  life,  which 
they  had  adopted  while  they  were  dependent  on  the  Mexicans, 
did  more  than  any  other  causes  to  bring  on  their  decay  as  a  na¬ 
tional  body  and  their  final  extinction.  The  sad  story  of  their  an¬ 
nihilation  during  the  era  of  Texan  independence,  with  some  notices 
on  their  latest  chiefs,  will  be  recounted  in  another  chapter. 

To  close  up  the  period  of  the  national  independence,  I  intend  to 
give  a  rapid  survey  of  all  the  coast  tribes  known  to  have  existed 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Karankawas,  an  undertaking  which  may 
ultimately  shed  more  light  upon  the  affinities  once  existing  among 
them  in  race  or  language  than  we  have  now.  Another  chapter 
will  deal  with  the  various  names  under  which  the  Ivarankawa  In¬ 
dians,  or  portions  of  them,  were  known  to  the  whites  and  Indians. 
96 


II.  OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL. 


Interim  dum  tu  celeres  sagittas 
promts,  haec  dentes  acuit  timendos. 

“  Similar  climates  produce  similar  habits  and  customs  ”  is  an 
ethnologic  principle  which  may  be  accepted  as  true  in  its  general 
sense,  but  is  not  without  its  restrictions.  The  gulf  coast  or  tide 
water  section  of  Texas  has  once  harbored  many  indigenous  tribes, 
called  autochthonic,  because  they  had  forgotten  all  about  the  for¬ 
mer  migrations  of  their  ancestors  or  congeners.  These  tribes, 
entirely  identified  with  the  country  in  which  they  grew  up,  all 
showed  many  analogies  in  their  habits  ;  they  wore  no  moccasins, 
protected  themselves  with  dress  or  skins  in  cold  weather  only,  lived 
in  the  pure  hunter  and  fisher  state,  painted  and  tattooed  themselves, 
were  an thropoph agists  and  engaged  in  continual  warfare  among  each 
other.  To  these  belong  the  tribes  of  the  Ataknpa,  of  the  Assinai, 
the  Karankawa,  the  Tonkaweya  and  the  Pakawa.  But  there  were 
also  some  tribes  in  this  littoral  tract,  who  were  intruders  from  the 
north  and  differed  from  the  above  in  many  of  their  customs,  though 
by  length  of  time  they  came  to  adopt  some  of  these.  We  have  to 
count  among  these  intruders  the  various  Apache-Tinne  tribes,  of 
which  the  Lipans  were  the  most  prominent,  and  also  whatsoever  of 
the  Pani  family  (Wichitas,  Tawakoni,  Weko)  advanced  so  far  south 
as  to  reach  temporarily  the  coast ;  also  the  Kaj'owe  and  the  Coman- 
ches,  the  latter  belonging  to  the  great  Slioshonian  (Ne'-ume,  Ne- 
uma)  inland  family.  Of  all  these  intrusive  bodies  of  Indians  none 
settled  permanently  on  the  coast  except  a  portion  of  the  Lipans. 

I  begin  with  the  enumeration  of  such  tribes  as  lived  nearest  to 
the  Karankawa  Indians,  the  numerous  bays,  inlets  and  sandbars 
of  the  Texas  coast.  With  these  the  probability  is  greater  than 
with  the  remoter  ones  that  they  were  congeners  in  race  or  language 
with  the  tribe  which  chiefly  occupies  our  attention.  I  shall  often 
have  occasion  to  refer  to  Professor  J.  C.  E.  Buschmann’s  notes  on 
the  Texan  tribes,  arrayed  in  alphabetic  order  in  his  “  Spuren  der 
aztekisclien  Sprache,”  Berlin,  1859  (Transact.  Roy.  Acad.  Sci- 

p.  M.  papers,  i.  7  97 


34 


OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES 


ences  of  1854),  pp.  417-455.  He  was  the  first  scientist  who  pub¬ 
lished  a  methodic  account  of  this  portion  of  North  American  In- 
dianology. 

The  Aranctma,  an  agricultural  and  peaceable  people,  were  settled 
upon  the  mission  of  La  Bahia  south  of  Goliad,  where  some  Karan- 
kawa  Indians  also  formed  a  part  of  the  neophytes.  They  are 
reported  to  have  previously  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  the  warlike 
Karankawa,  though  no  date  is  given  for  the  event.  Morse,  in  his 
Report  (1822),  mentions  Arrenamuses  to  the  number  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty  men  upon  the  San  Antonio  river  and  thetribe  ex¬ 
isted  there  much  later.1 

Biskatronge ;  see  Caoque. 

Cuoque  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  living  upon  the  sandbar  where 
A.  N.  Cabeca  de  Yaca  and  his  three  companions  suffered  shipwreck, 
and  which  he  calls  Island  of  Misfortune  (Isla  del  Malhado).  They 
spoke  another  language  or  dialect  than  the  Han,  who  lived  upon 
the  same  island,  and  whose  name  appears  to  be  the  Caddo  term 
hayanu,  contracted  into  ha-an,  ha/n ,  people,  men .2  In  another  chap¬ 
ter  of  his  “Naufragios”  this  people  is  called  Capoques,  and  Father 
Anastasius  Douay  speaks  of  them  as  Quoaquis,  living  near  St* 
Louis  bay,  raising  crops  of  maize  and  selling  horses  at  low  prices.3 
They  belonged  to  the  Biscatronges  or  “Weepers”  seen  by  de  la 
Salle’s  companions,  and  individuals  of  the  same  gens  always  went 
together,4  as  reported  by  Cabega  de  Vaca.  These  “Weepers”  were 
called  by  that  name,  because  before  presenting  a  request  or  com¬ 
plaint,  they  cried  and  wept  in  the  most  piteous  manner  for  half  an 
hour  —  a  peculiar  and  expressive  kind  of  gesture  language!  This 
custom  was  common  among  the  tribes  of  the  vicinity  and  hence 
Biscatronges  cannot  be  considered  as  areal  tribal  name, as  several 
tribes  differing  from  each  other,  whenever  they  observed  this  cus¬ 
tom,  could  be  called  so.5  The  tribes  of  the  Kouyam  and  Quouaa 
we  have  mentioned  previously.  An  anonymous  Mexican  document 
of  1828  states  that  the  “Tarancahuases  y  Cujanos”  are  coast  tribes 
scattered  from  the  barbor  of  Corpus  Christi  (northeastward)  to  the 
bar  of  Colorado  river.  They  are  good  fighters  and  often  attacked 

2H.  S.  Thrall,  Pictorial  History  of  Texas;  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1879,  p.  446. 

2  This  Caddo  word  is  variously  pronounced:  hayanu,  htkino,  ha-ano,  etc.;  gn  Indian 
is:  hatino  heano,  lit.  “red  person,”  hatino,  atinu  meaning  red. 

sShea,  Discovery,  p.  207. 

4  Cabe<;a  de  Vaca,  in  Barcia,  Historiadores,  I,  pp.  17,  28. 

5  For  the  verb  to  weep,  cry,  our  Karankawa  list  has  the  term  owiya. 

9S 


OF  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL. 


35 


St.  Austin’s  colonists,  though  they  were  repulsed  by  them.  Both 
tribes  had  about  one  hundred  families  as  a  joint  population.1 
“  Cujanos  or  Cuyanes  ”  are  mentioned  long  before  this  as  inhabit¬ 
ing  tracts  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Antonio  (de  Bejar),  probably  be¬ 
cause  placed  there  upon  a  mission  and  they  must  be  identical  with 
the  Caoques  and  also  with  the  Cokes,  whom,  in  1849,  Bollaert  de¬ 
clares  to  be  a  branch  of  the  “  Koronks.”2 

The  Cocos  mentioned  by  Morse  and  others  appear  to  have  lived 
in  Louisiana  and  to  belong  to  the  Atakapa  family  ;  the  Caddo  term 
koko,  laiku  means  water ;  cf.  the  names  of  Coco  prairie  and  of  Ana- 
coco  in  western  Louisiana,  Vernon  Parish. 

Ebahamo.  What  we  know  of  this  tribe  has  all  been  stated  pre¬ 
viously  among  the  early  accounts  upon  the  Karankawa.  They  do 
not  appear  again  in  history  and  probably  were  a  tribe  closely  affil¬ 
iated  to  the  Karankawa. 

Erigoanna  are  referred  to  by  Charlevoix  (Nouvelle  France,  ed. 
Shea,  IV,  90)  ;  they  were  in  1687  at  war  with  the  Bahamos  or  Bra- 
camos,  and  figure  upon  the  maps  of  the  period. 

The  Kironona  Indians  were  a  tribe  living  about  thirty  leagues 
southwest  of  the  Assinai  or  Cenis,  and  were  seen  by  Joutel  and 
others  in  1686,  who  called  them  Kikanonas.  According  to  a  note 
in  French,  Hist.  Coll.,n,  p.  11  (1875),  they  occupied  an  island  or 
peninsula  in  St.  Bernard’s  bay,  which  was  ten  miles  long  and  five 
broad.  Anast.  Douay  mentions  them  as  neighbors  of  the  Biska- 
tronges  or  “  Weepers  ”  and  calls  them  Kironomes.  Barcia  in  his 
Ensayo  refers  to  Joutel’s  visit  among  them,  stating  that  the  Ki¬ 
kanonas  received  the  French  in  friendly  manner  and  had  their  hands 
full  of  ears,  thereby  welcoming  them  to  a  repast.  They  referred 
to  a  white  people  in  the  West,  cruel  and  treacherous,  evidently  al¬ 
luding  to  the  Spanish.3  Daniel  Coxe,  in  his  Carolctna ,  p.  38  (1741), 
mentions  the  Kirononas  as  a  tribe  settled  on  the  Texas  coast  upon 
a  river  of  the  same  name.  It  will  be  shown  below  who  these  Ki¬ 
rononas  really  were. 

The  Mayeye,  Malleyes  or  Mayes  were  a  tribe  who  during  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  lived  in  the  immediate  vicin¬ 
ity  of  the  Karankawa  Indians.  They  are  mentioned  in  a  census 

1  Soc.  Geogr.  Mexic.,  1870,  p.  266;  cf.  ibid.,  1869,  p.  504. 

3  Journal  Ethnol.  Soc.,  II,  265, 276  (London,  1850). 

SC/.  Marquette  and  Joliet.  Account  of  the  Discov.,  etc.,  in  French,  Hist.  Coll, 
of  La,,  II,  280 .—Charlevoix,  New  France,  ed.  Shea,  IV,  88:  footnote  quoting  Father 
Anast.  Douay  and  Abbe  Cavelier. 


99 


36 


OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES 


of  the  Indians  of  Nacogdoches  jurisdiction,  taken  in  1790:  Ata- 
capas,  Mayeyes,  Orcoquiza,  Cocos,  etc.,  and  Dr.  Sibley,  in  his  mes¬ 
sage  of  1805, 1  mentions  the  Mayes  as  living  on  a  large  creek  called 
St.  Gabriel,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Guadeloupe  river  and  running 
into  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard.  They  then  numbered  two  hundred 
men,  spoke  Atakapa  (  ?),  but  had  a  language  of  their  own.  Brack- 
enridge’s  Views  of  Louisiana  (1814),  p.  87,  calls  them  Mayees.  Old 
Simon,  my  Tonkawe  informant,  said  that  the  Meye,  or  Miyi,  spoke 
a  dialect  of  Tonkawe  and  lived  near  the  Texan  coast,  where  he  saw 
them.  That  they  were  a  people  cognate  to  the  Tonkawe  is  made 
probable  by  the  fact,  that  a  clan,  or  gens  among  these,  is  called  Maye 
or  Meyei,  said  to  signify  dizziness .2  Villa  Seuor  knows  of  the 
Malleyes  (p.  323)  as  being  settled  upon  a  water-spring  Las  Puen- 
tecitas  in  the  district  of  San  Antonio  and  calls  them  pagans.  Ar- 
ricivita  calls  them  Mayeyes,  settled  upon  the  San  Xavier  Mission, 
which  is  not  identifiable  with  any  of  the  mission  sites  now  known. 
(Buschmann,  Spuren,  p.  434.) 

We  now  come  to  a  series  of  tribes  which  have  many  ethnic  and 
linguistic  particulars  in  common  with  the  Karankawas.  These 
particulars  will  be  given  in  detail  below'  and  will  go  far  to  estab¬ 
lish  linguistic  affinity,  though  only  a  distant  one.  These  tribes 
are  :  (1)  the  bands  now  known  under  the  collective  name  Tonka- 
weya,  abbreviated  Tonkawe  ;  and  (2)  the  tribes  on  both  sides  of 
the  Lower  Rio  Grande.  The  former  extent  of  this  family  is  not 
known  with  accuracy.  I  have  called  it  Pakawa  from  one  of  their 
tribes,  some  of  whose  representatives  survive  at  the  present  time 
under  the  name  of  Pintos. 

The  Tonkaice  people  of  Texas,  nowr  living  upon  the  Oakland  re¬ 
serve  in  the  northern  parts  of  Indian  Territory,  is  a  conglomerate 
of  tribal  remnants  closely'  related  to  each  other  but  differing  con¬ 
siderably  in  their  bodily  size  and  constitution.  The  language  of 
the  “  old  people”  among  them  contains  many  terms  regarded  as 
archaic  by  those  who  speak  the  language  of  the  “  young  people,” 
and  one  of  the  thirteen  totemic  gentes  of  the  people —  (which  in 
1884  had  dwindled  to  seventy-eight  persons),  bears  the  name  “  the 
genuine  Tonkawe.”  Tonkaweya  is  the  Weko  name  of  the  people, 

1  Lewis  and  Clark,  Discov.,  ISOfi,  p.  72. 

2  Mayan  signifies  terrapin  in  the  Tonkawe  language;  a  tribe  of  “  Tortugas  ”  is 
mentioned  in  the  vicinity  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  said  to  be  called 
alter  a  turtle-shaped  hill  in  the  tide  water  section  of  Texas. 

100 


OF  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL 


37 


by  which  they  are  mentioned  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  years 
ago  j1  it  is  said  to  mean  “the}7  all  stay  together,”  weya,  we-i,  wai’h, 
being  the  Caddo  word  for  all.  But  they  call  themselves  b}7  the  Ton¬ 
kawe  name  of  Titskan  watitch,  indigenous  men ,  native  Indians ,  or 
people  of  this  country,  and  observe  the  institutes  of  mother-right. 

Just  prior  to  their  removal  from  northwestern  Texas  to  their  new 
homes,  in  September  and  October,  1884,  I  had  the  opportunit}7  to 
study  their  language  at  Fort  Griffin,  on  the  Clear  fork  of  Brazos 
river,  where  they  had  been  placed  after  the  close  of  the  secession 
war.  One  of  their  old  men,  Simon,  said  that  the  Meye  (or  Mayeyes) 
spoke  a  language  related  to  theirs  and  one  of  their  traditions  states 
that  on  the  coast  near  Galveston  they  once  met  a  people  called 
Yakwal,  “  Drifted  People,”  from  whom  they  had  suddenly  been 
separated  by  a  submergence  of  coast  land  and  who  spoke  a  dia¬ 
lect  of  their  language.2  In  consequence  of  their  erratic  habits, 
the  Tonkawe  (abbreviated  Tonks  ;  Span.  Tancahuas)  people  or 
rather  portions  of  it  have  lived  in  almost  every  part  of  middle 
and  southern  Texas;  one  band  is  mentioned  (1842)  in  Fayette 
county,  southeast  of  the  capital ;  one  on  the  Wallopia  river  (the 
Guadeloupe  river  ?)  near  Corpus  Christi  about  1847  .;  another  near 
Waco,  in  the  centre  of  the  state,  on  the  upper  course  of  Brazos 
river.  They  probably  lived  also  near  the  Rio  Grande,  for  many  of 
their  traditions  and  terms  of  the  language  point  to  that  vicinity. 
The  fact  that  certain  Tonkawe  terms  of  general  and  daily  use  are 
compound  terms  and  not  short  words ,  as  with  us,  seems  to  prove 
that  their  early  home  was  distant  from  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  or  from 
any  large  river  or  lagoon.  I  refer  here  to  words  like  no-enshoyun, 
canoe ,  boat;  talmai  a/-kapai,  island ,  the  real  meaning  of  these 
terms  being  “make  float,”  “round  and  no  water,”  i.  e.,  “dry  round 
piece  of  land  in  the  water.”  Neither  is  the  term  for  fish,  nisliwe- 
lan,  a  simple  word,  but  the  causative  form  of  a  verb.3 

’La  Harpe,  in  1719,  calls  them  Tancaoye,  and  enemies  of  the  Cancy  (Apaches);  Mar- 
gry,  Decouv.,  VI,  277-279. 

2  They  called  tobacco  nawetch,  tobacco  pipe  nawetch  wek;  words  belonging  to  the 
archaic  dialect  of  Tonkawe  and  still  understood  by  the  people. 

3  The  following  will  give  some  contemporaneous  evidence  upon  the  distribution  of 
tribes  in  southern  Texas  from  1S90  to  1850 : 

From  a  correspondence  addressed  to  me  by  an  old  Texan  settler,  Mr.  T.  W.  Gras- 
meyer,  dated  La  Grange,  Fayette  Co.,  Texas,  Aug.  17,  1S78, 1  gather  the  fact  that  por¬ 
tions  of  the  Tonkawe  and  Karankawas  were  often  encamped  near  the  spot  where  he 
stayed;  the  former  at  Matagorda,  near  the  coast,  and  the  latter  on  the  Colorado  river, 
about  eighteen  miles  above  La  Grange.  He  had  made  an  imperfect  vocabulary  of 
tlie  languages  of  both  tribes,  which  subsequently  was  lost  in  an  overflow,  and  he  re- 

101 


38 


OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES 


The  PaiJcawa,  Paikawan  or  Pakawa  family  of  Indians  are  the 
aborigines  living  on  both  sides  of  the  Lower  Rio  Grande,  though 
their  limit  to  the  north  and  northwest  is  unknown.  The  numerous 
dialects  of  this  stock  were  spoken  in  the  west  as  far  as  the  tower¬ 
ing  ridge  of  the  Sierra  Mad  re  and  in  the  east  extended  to  or  be- 
yond  the  San  Antonio  river.  One  dialect  of  it  is  preserved  in  the 
Catechism  of  Padre  Bartholome  Garcia  (Queretaro,  1760),  who 
was  stationed  for  more  than  twelve  years  in  the  missions  of  Texas 
and  had  under  his  special  charge  the  Indians  gathered  at  the  mis¬ 
sion  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,1  about  ten  miles  south  of  the  city 
of  San  Antonio.  On  the  title-page  of  his  Catechism,  which  bears 
the  title  of  “  Manual,”  he  does  not  mention  the  name  of  the  lan¬ 
guage  in  which  he  wrote,  but  states  that  the  questions  put  down 
by  him  will  be  understood  by  the  tribes  of  the  Pajalates,  Orejones, 
Pacaos  (the  above  Pakawa  or  Pintos,  “  tattooed”),  Pacoas,  Tili- 
jayas,  Alasapas,  Pausanes  —  and  also  by  many  others  living  in  the 
missions  around  San  Antonio  and  the  Rio  Grande  ;  for  instance, 
the  Pacuaehes,  Mescales,  Pampopas,  Tacames,  Chayopines,  Ve- 
nados,  Pamaques  and  by  the  j’oung  people  of  the  Pihuiques,  Bor- 
rados,  Sanipaos  and  Manos  de  Perro.  There  are  but  a  few  of  these 
tribes  of  which  the  authors  give  us  the  original  habitat,  but  all  of 
them  dwelt  between  the  Sierra  Mad  re  and  the  Medina  river  or  the 
.Rio  San  Antonio.  Other  dialects  of  Pakawa  existed  south  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  between  Mier  and  Matamoros.  Two  of  these  survive  near 
Las  Prietas  and  were  studied  by  me  in  1886  :  the  Coraecrudo  and 
the  Cotoname.  The  former  is  spoken  by  eight  old  people  only 
who  live  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  Tamaulipas, 
and  in  many  respects  is  exceedingly  simple  in  its  phonetics,  lexi¬ 
con  and  structure.  The  tribe  of  the  Carrizos  has  long  been  ex¬ 
tinct,  but  these  two  tribes  now  popularly  pass  under  that  name, 
because  they  cover  their  lodges  with  long  canes  (carrizos). 


membered  very  little  about  the  contents,  except  that  the  “  Crancuas”  called  the  horse : 
"Qwy,”  the  Tonkawe  ‘‘Neshawn.”  lie  also  became  acquainted  with  Lipans,  Ara- 
namosand  Bidais,  but  never  was  able  to  discover  the  slightest  resemblance  or  affinity 
between  the  languages  spoken  by  any  of  these  tribes.  He  also  thought  that  a  few  of  the 
Karankawas  might  still  exist  on  Padre  island,  at  its  southern  end,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  The  proper  woiding  of  “Neshawn”  is :  nishawauan  “who  is  made  to 
carry  (loads).”  Qwy  is  Span,  caballo. 

>  H.  H.  Bancroft,  Hist,  of  North  Mex.  States,  I,  G33  (whole  Vol.  XV),  gives  the  fol¬ 
lowing  particulars :  this  mission  was  in  1731  transferred  from  the  Nazones  (a  Caddo 
tribe)  to  its  later  position  and  numbered  fifty-eight  Indians  in  1785,  thirty-four  in  1793. 
The  Census  Report  for  1814  in  the  Texas  State  Archives,  Document  No.  342,  gives  sixty- 
five  Indians. 


102 


OF  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL. 


39 


Orozco  y  Berra  and  his  sources  mention  other  tribes  which  lived 
in  the  same  parts  and  must  have  spoken  cognate  languages.  Of 
the  languages  of  southern  Tamaulipas  nothing  is  known  except  a 
specimen  of  Maratino,  which  is  too  corrupt  in  its  text  and  too  short 
to  furnish  any  reliable  linguistic  data.1 

The  Indians  of  the  Alakapa  family  of  Louisiana  consisted  of 
coast  and  fisher  tribes  like  those  of  the  Karankawa  and  their  lan¬ 
guage  is  reported  as  spoken  formerly  in  parts  of  Texas.  This  fact 
becomes  somewhat  doubtful  on  account  of  the  generic  signification 
of  the  name,  which  is  the  Cha’hta  term  for  man-eater  and  could 
therefore,  like  that  of  Chichimecas,  Diggers,  Orejones,  Tapuyos, 
Patagones,  etc.,  be  applied  to  many  tribes  simultaneously.  Only 
a  small  part  of  Texas,  east  of  Houston  city  and  Neches  river, 
could  have  harbored  Indians  of  the  same  nation  which  spoke  the 
dialects  once  heard  upon  the  Bayou  Teche,  the  Mermenta-u,  Cal¬ 
casieu  and  Sabine  rivers  of  Louisiana. 

Pani  tribes  on  the  Gulf  coast.  In  prehistoric  times  the  nation 
of  the  Assinai,  now  better  known  as  Caddo  (from  one  of  their 
branches)  must  have  diverged  from  the  Pani  proper,  the  Wichita, 
the  Kichai  and  the  "We'ko  (Span.  Hueco),  though  nobody  can 
tell  the  directions  of  the  compass  which  were  followed  by  these 
peoples  when  the  segmentation  took  place.  At  the  dawn  of  history 
we  find  the  Assinai  in  the  centre  of  what  is  now  Texas,  and  they 
appear  to  have  had  their  densest  settlements  upon  Trinity  river. 
They  are  the  Cenis,  Cenys,  Asinays,  Assenis  of  the  French  ex¬ 
plorers.  The  Bided  (Span.  Vidais,  Vidayos)  appear  to  have 
lived  in  the  same  tracts  and  to  have  also  extended  further  south ; 
they  passed  for  a  branch  of  the  Assinai  (which  means  man,  Indian 
in  Caddo)  in  early  times.  The  name  bidai,  shrub,  bush,  belongs  to 
Caddo  dialects,  and  from  the  six  first  numerals,  the  only  Bidai 
terms  I  was  able  to  obtain,  I  infer  that  they  belong  to  a  Caddo 
dialect,  because  like  the  adjectives  of  that  language  they  all  be¬ 
gin  in  na — .2  Another  tribe  probably  related  to  the  Assinai,  the 

1  Cf.  Alex.  Prieto,  “Tamaulipas,”  1873.  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  Vol.  HI. 

2  Mr.  Rufus  Grimes  of  Navasota,  Grimes  Co.,  Texas,  writes  under  date  of  Nov.  15, 1887, 
that  the  “Bedias”  once  occupied  tiie  above  and  four  of  the  adjoining  counties.  About 
five  hundred  of  them  existed  in  1826,  and  they  remembered  wars  which  their  forefath¬ 
ers  had  with  the  Comanches.  From  remembrance  he  put  down  the  following  numerals: 
l.namah;  2,  nahonde;  3,  naheestah ;  4,  nashirimah;  5,  nahot  nahonde;  6,nasheesna- 
honde.  Of  the  numerals  from  7  to  10  nothing  was  remembered  except  n— ,  which  was 
their  initial  sound.  Puskus  meant  boy  and  tandshai  maize. 


103 


40 


OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES 


Orcoquizac ,  was  settled  near  the  coast,  and  a  Spanish-Mexican  guar- 
rison  and  mission  was  established  among  them  at  a  later  epoch. 
This  was  San  Agustin  de  Ahuinada  or  Horcaquisac  presidio,  upon 
an  ancient  ford  of  the  Lower  Trinidad  river,  and  it  existed  from 
1756  to  1772.1  These  Indians  are  variously  called  Arkokisa,  Accon- 
cesaws,  Orcoquizas,  Horcaquisaes,  etc. ;  el  puerto  de  Orcoquisac, 
with  two  hundred  soldiers  in  1805  (Tex.  St.  Arch.,  Doc.  No.  538), 
and  for  some  time  Lower  Trinidad  river  itself  was  called  Arkokisa. 
Some  are  also  mentioned  as  an  agricultural  tribe  upon  the  San 
Jacinto  river.  Of  the  racial  affinity  and  language  of  these  Indians 
nothing  is  known  and  their  Caddo  affinity  is  merely  a  guess.  Their 
tribal  name,  however,  is  undoubtedly  from  the  Caddo  language 
and  was  pronounced  Akankisa.  Its  signification  is  not  certain, 
but  it  has  something  to  do  with  passing  or  crossing  (the  river)  and 
occurs  in  the  word  for  noon ,  when  the  sun  passes  the  noon-point: 
kaditi  ta/iskankisa,  noon  (kaditi,  kahaditi  —  in  the  middle ,  half). 
But  the  historical  people  of  the  Tejas  or  Texas,  from  which  the 
state  obtained  its  name,  was  certainly  related  to  the  Assinai,  and 
according  to  Villa  Senor  the  province  “de  los  Texas”  was  also  called 
“de  los  Senis”  (p.  328).  Los  tecos,  Lastecas,  Tachies  and  other 
earlier  forms  of  the  name  have  often  been  the  subject  of  et3'ino- 
logic  attempts,  but  no  author  found  the  correct  explanation,  be¬ 
cause  none  was  acquainted  with  the  dialects  of  the  Assinai  or 
Caddo  language.  Tele,  tek,  tik,  the  term  for  q>eople,  man,  some¬ 
body,  in  the  Yatassi  and  Nabaidatche  dialect,  is  the  original  form 
of  the  name  Texas,  which  appears  historically  in  so  many  different 
modes  of  spelling. 


Of  the  intrusive,  non-indigenous  families  of  Texas  the  Tinne  or 
Athapaskan  is  the  most  conspicuous.  The  family  of  the  Tinne  is 
indigenous  to  the  country  north  of  the  Saskatchewan  river  and  that 
portion  which  came  as  far  south  as  Texas  and  New  Mexico  is  of 

'H.  H.  Bancroft,  l.  1.  xv,  p.  633  (Note).  Cf.  p.  630:  “an  order  was  issued  in  1773 
to  suppress  the  presidios  of  Los  Adaes  (Pilar)  and  Horcaquisac  (San  Agustin);  .  .  . 
these  orders  were  carried  out  immediately  by  Ripperda  ....  and  the  northern  dis¬ 
trict  thus  was  practically  given  up  to  the  savages.”  In  1755  fifty  Tlascaltec  families 
had  been  brought  to  this  presidio. — (Ibid.,  p.  025). 

In  the  Texas  Archives  there  is  a  document  of  Aug.  26, 1756,  containing  an  Order  to 
select  a  site  for  a  mission  and  settlement  of  fifty  families :  “de  este  ojo  l’agua  pasa  a  la 
rancheria  de  Calzoues  Colorados,  capitan  de  la  dicha  rancheria  y  de  nacion  Horeo- 
quisa.” 

104 


OF  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL. 


41 


a  particularly  ferocious  type.  The  Lipans  were  in  the  eighteenth 
century  settled  in  two  regions  on  the  Rio  Grande,  as  pointed  out 
previously  ;  nowadays  about  fifty  of  them,  with  Kickapoos,  live  in 
the  Santa  Rosa  mountains,  from  which  they  stroll  about  mak¬ 
ing  inroads  into  the  vicinity  to  steal  horses  and  cattle.  Others 
serve  as  scouts  in  the  Texan  forts  which  are  garrisoned  by  the 
United  States  army.  In  April,  1757,  a  presidio  and  a  mission  were 
established  for  the  Lipans  and  Apaches  on  the  San  Saba  river, 
but  eleven  months  later  the  mission  was  destroyed  by  several  thou¬ 
sand  Indians  who  arrived  under  the  command  of  a  Comanche  chief. 
The  Apaches  were  then  provided  with  missions  in  1761  and  1762  at 
San  Lorenzo  and  at  Candelaria  (perhaps  on  the  Upper  San  Antonio 
river),  but  in  1767  these  missions  were  abandoned  by  order  of  the 
viceroy.1  The  presidio  at  San  Saba  existed  till  1772.  To  what 
special  tribe  these  Apaches  belonged  is  not  known,  though  raids 
of  Mescalero-Apaches  into  Texas  occurred  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
ury.  The  Apaches  were  also  known  to  the  Texan  Indians  as  Cances 
(misspelt,  Carees),  which  is  the  appellation  given  them  by  the  Cad- 
dos  :  Kantsi,  “deceivers,  traitors.”  On  Jefferys’  Atlas  of  1776  the 
nations  of  the  Kaikaches  and  the  Kanaches,  the  latter  being  the 
“Kantsi”  or  Apaches,  are  marked  as  southwest  of  St.  Bernard  (or 
St.  Louis)  bay,  down  to  the  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte. 

The  Comanche  people  is  the  only  branch  of  the  Shoshonian  stock 
of  the  great  interior  basin  which  has  pushed  its  raiding  expedi¬ 
tions  so  far  south  as  to  reach  the  coast.  They  are  in  fact  a  branch 
of  the  eastern  Shoshoni  or  Snake  Indians,  now  in  Wyoming  Terri¬ 
tory  and  vicinity,  and  a  Comanche  division  is  still  called  after  that 
national  body  (Pohoi).  Comanche  warfare  in  Texas  and  Old 
Mexico  is  recorded  as  far  back  as  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  if  the  Choumans  of  the  French  chroniclers  should  be 
identical  with  this  people,  as  some  believe,  raids  of  this  warlike 
tribe  would  be  recorded  even  for  the  end  of  the  seventeenth.  The 
Comanches  consist  of  more  than  fourteen  subdivisions,  which  in 
earlier  times  never  lived  together,  but  were  often  separated  by  thou¬ 
sands  of  miles.  Of  these  the  Kwahada,  or  “Antelope”  Com¬ 
anches  passed  for  the  most  warlike,  that  of  the  Penetethka  or 
“Honey-Eaters”  for  the  most  populous.2  The  Kayowe  Indians 

1H.  H.  Bancroft,  l.  1.  XV,  626-629. 

2Com.  peni,  pini,  sweet;  sugar,  honey;  t£thka,  in  other  Sliosh.  dialects,  teka.reka, 
rtka,  to  eat,  or,  one  eating,  those  who  eat .  They  fed  upon  the  honey  of  wasps. 


105 


42 


OTHER  INDIAN  TRIBES  OP  THE  TEXAN  LITTORAL. 


were  their  associates  on  war-expeditions  for  centuries,  and  with 
these  we  find  as  constant  companions  a  small  tribe  of  Apaches, 
who  call  themselves  Na  isha  and  whose  dialect  has  a  considerably 
close  affinity  with  that  of  the  Mescaiero-Apache  of  New  Mexico. 
Many  Comanclies  were  placed  upon  the  mission  of  the  San  Saba 
river,  a  western  affluent  of  Upper  Colorado  river.  This  vicinity 
afterwards  became  a  sort  of  headquarters  for  all  the  war  parties  of 
the  Comanclies,  and  from  there  many  incursions  were  made  into 
Chihuahua,  Coaliuila  and  to  the  coast  of  Texas,  like  those  of  1840 
and  1843.  A  document  (No.  1156)  of  the  Texas  archives,  dated 
1832,  speaks  of  oriental  and  occidental  Comanclies  and  records  in¬ 
cursions  of  theirs  into  Mexico  for  that  j'ear.  The  Tonkawe  people 
lived  for  a  while  on  the  same  reservation  with  these  Indians,  on  the 
Brazos  river,  and  remember  them,  especially  the  Kwahada,  with 
terror.  The  Iiarankawas,  though  warlike,  were  greatly  afraid  of 
their  raids,  which  in  1840  and  1843  were  directed  into  the  heart  of 
the  Karankawa  country.  They  also  visited  the  mouth  of  the  Bio 
Grande,  scourging  that  country  everywhere,  and  were  known  to  the 
Comecrudos  as  Selakampom  papl.  Comanche  is  pronounced  by 
them  “Kuma'tsi,  Kuma'ntsi,”  a  name  which  was  given  to  them  b}r 
the  white  population  of  Mexico  ;  they  call  themselves  Ne-ume,  the 
“people.” 


III.  TRIBAL  SYNONYMY  OF  THE  KARANKAWAS. 


Simon,  an  old  Tonkawe  man,  pronounced  the  name  of  this 
people:  Karamkawa,  which  comes  very  near  to  the  French  form 
Clamcoet.  In  this  last  form  the  final  t  is  only  graphic  sign  and 
not  pronounced  ;  so  we  have :  klam-koe.  It  also  agrees  closely 
with  Korenkake,  perhaps  misspelt  for  Korenkahe,  for  the  names  of 
these  French  lists  are  not  to  be  relied  on  in  their  orthography. 
The  second  syllable  of  Karankawa  is  the  accented  one. 

Besides  these  forms  which  we  may  regard  as  the  most  complete 
and  correct  ones  in  their  spelling,  the  name  is  also  rendered  in  the 
following  ways : 

Spanish  authors:  Carancaguaces,  Carancahuazes,  Carancaliua- 
ses,  Carancahuas,  Caranclmhnas,  Carancowasos. 

American  and  English  authors:  Caranhouas,  Carankalmas,  Ca- 
rankawaes,  Carankoways,  Carankouas,  Charankoua,  Coran  koua, 
Coran-canas,  Coronkawa,  Crancuas,  Karankaways,  Karankoas, 
Karan-koo-as,  Koronks  (or  Coronks).  The  form  Caranchua  is 
justifiable  only  when  the  c  and  the  li  are  pronounced  with  an  hiatus 
intervening. 

French  authors:  Carancouas,  Carankouas,  Carankonas,  Clam- 
coets,  Koienkahe. 

The  majority  of  American  tribal  names  now  in  use  were  given 
to  the  respective  tribes  by  neighboring  Indians,  whereas  each  tribe 
calls  itself  simply  :  men,  people,  bodies ,  Indians ,  indigenous  or  na¬ 
tive  people ,  genuine  people  and  other  forms  of  such  general  import. 
This  was  also  the  case  with  the  Karankawa  Indians,  who  obtained 
their  name  from  a  cognate  people,  dwelling  south  of  them,  who 
called  the  dog  by  the  term  klam,  gl&m.  In  the  Comecrudo  lan¬ 
guage  the  dog  is  called  so  and  formerly  this  was  also  the  term  for 
animal  or  quadruped.  The  Karankawa  and  Shetimasha  call  the 
dog  :  kiss,1  and  the  Cotoname  has  kissa  for  fox.  The  second  por¬ 
tion  of  the  name  is  kawa,  to  love ,  to  like ,  to  be  fond  of,  or  when  a 

1In  Shetimasha  of  Southern  Louisiana  kish  is  dog ,  and  kish  atln,  liorse,  viz.,  “  large 
dog.”  This  shows  that  kish  was  originally  the  term  for  animal,  or  living  being. 


107 


44 


TRIBAL  SYNONYMY  OF  THE  KAKANKAWAS. 


plural  of  the  object  is  referred  to,  kakawa.  Thus  Karankawa 
means  dog-lovers ,  dog-raisers ,  and  this  refers  to  the  fact,  reported  by- 
Mrs.  Oliver  as  well  as  by  an  author  of  the  seventeenth  centurv, 
that  these  Indians  kept  dogs ,  which  were  of  a  fox-like  or  coyote¬ 
like  race.  It  is  possible  that  the  plural  form  kakawa  is  preserved 
in  the  name  Korenkake.  Kawa  also  reappears  in  the  Ivarankawa 
language  itself,  where  ka  means  to  love ,  to  like. 

It  is  of  importance  to  know  that  the  tribe  called  themselves  by  this 
same  name  Karankawa;  for  thus  we  are  entitled  to  assume  that 
they  understood  this  appellation,  and  did  not  object  to  apply  it  to 
themselves,  though  it  belonged  to  another  language. 

With  others  I  think  that  the  name  of  the  Kirononas  or  Kikano- 
nas,  a  tribe  living  in  the  very  districts  held  by  the  Karankawas,  is 
but  an  orthographic  distortion  and  misspelling  of  the  name  Ka¬ 
rankawa. 

With  a  change  of  the  second  part,  the  same  name  is  contained 
in  Qitelancouchis,  a  tribe  assigned  to  the  same  localities  also.  The}'- 
are  mentioned  in  Margry,  Dec.  IV,  316,  about  1G99;  as  Quela- 
moueches  in  Delisle’s  map,  in  J.  Winsor,  Hist.  Amer.,  II,  294 ;  as 
Quelanhubeches  in  1689  ;  Barcia,  Ensaj'O,  p.  294;  Shea,  Discov., 
p.  208  (note)  ;  Shea,  Early  Voyages  (1861),  p.  21,  note.  The  sec¬ 
ond  portion  apparently  represents  one  and  the  same  word  differ¬ 
ently  written,  but  I  am  unable  to  tell  the  signification  of  this  second 
component. 

The  names  bjr  which  other  tribes  called  them  remain  to  be  con¬ 
sidered.  The  Tonkawe  called  them  Wrestlers  from  this  manly  art 
in  which  they  excelled  :  Keles  or  Kllis.1  They  also  named  them 
Yakokon  kapa-i,  “  barefooted,”  “  without  moccasins,”2  an  appella¬ 
tion  which  they  applied  as  well  to  the  Bidai  and  to  some  tribes  on 
the  lower  Rio  Grande.3 

The  Lipan-Apaches  called  the  Karankawa  :  people  who  walk  in  the 
water ,  Nda  kun  dadehe  ;4  this  evidently  refers  to  their  peculiar 
mode  of  fishing  and  turtle-catching,  as  described  by  Mrs.  Oliver. 

The  Comecrudo  Indians  called  them  Estok  Karanguas  (estok, 
people ,  Indians ),  and  for  a  while  they  were  known  in  these  dis¬ 
tricts  as  Tampacuas  ;  cf.  below. 

•In  Tonkawe  sliaya  ekilen ,  I  am  wrestling;  ketai  ekelo  I  wrestle  with  me! 

2  Y'akokon,  moccasin;  kapa-i,  not  having. 

3  As  to  the  custom  of  walking  barefooted,  it  will  be  noticed ‘that  a  division  of  the 
Comanche  people  is  now  called  Keta’htone,  “  never  wearing  moccasins.” 

4  Nda,  people;  kun,  water;  dadehe,  walking,  in  Lipan-Apache. 

103 


IV.  THE  KARANKAWA  NATION  AFTER  1835;  ITS  DECLINE  AND 

EXTINCTION. 


Dura  post  paullg  fugies  inaudax 
proelia  raptor. 

Before  starting  upon  the  narrative  of  the  events  which  finally 
brought  about  the  extinction  of  the  nation  which  here  occupies  our 
attention,  let  us  cast  a  glance  upon  the  former  historic  facts  in  or¬ 
der  to  compass  the  extent  of  territory  occupied  by  this  people 
when  still  in  its  native,  flourishing  condition. 

HABITAT  OF  THE  NATION. 

A  promontory  of  the  mainland  in  the  West  bay,  fifteen  miles 
southwest  of  Galveston  city” ,  Galveston  county,  is  called  Caron- 
kaway  point”  to  this  dajT.  This  was  one  of  their  fishing  and  stop¬ 
ping  stations  and  also  formed  one  end  of  the  shallow  ford  which 
allowed  them  to  cross  over  to  the  sand  bar  opposite  in  good  weath¬ 
er.  By  this  ford  a  party  of  theirs  escaped  at  night  when  attacked 
by  Lafitte’s  men  in  1818.  This  point  is  the  easternmost  place  in 
their  possession  which  I  have  been  able  to  discover.  It  explains 
their  vicinity  to  the  Atakapa  tribe  and  the  adoption  of  that  lan¬ 
guage  by  a  part  of  the  Karankawa  nation  (as  referred  to  by  Dr. 
Sibley),  who  continued  speaking  their  own  language  besides.  The 
extensive  shores  of  the  neighboring  Galveston  bay  were  probably 
visited  by  them  also,  and  Morse  (1822)  heard  of  some  living  upon 
San  Jacinto  river. 

We  know  that  west  of  these  the  Karankawas  held  or  claimed  both 
sides  of  the  mouth  of  Colorado  river,  Texas,  and  the  map  in  Yo¬ 
akum’s  History  of  Texas  (1856)  has  placed  them  there  correctly. 
One  of  their  main  points  of  repair  was  undoubtedly  the  bay  of 
Matagorda,  its  northern  inlets,  as  Trespalacios  bay,  and  its  west¬ 
ern  part,  also  called  La  Vaca  bay.1  Further  west  they  lived  up¬ 
on  the  bays  of  Aransas,  Espiritu  Santo  and  Kopano,  on  the  out- 

*  La  Vaca  river  or  “  Cow  river”  was  called  so  by  R.  C.  de  la  Salle,  on  account  of 
the  herds  of  buffaloes  seen  there. 


109 


46 


THE  KARANKAWA  NATION  AFTER  1835  ; 


let  of  the  rivers  there  and  of  Nueces  (or  Pckan  Nut)  river,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Laguna  Mad  re  down  to  Brazos  Santiago,  a  place 
at  the  southern  end  of  the  sandbar,  called  Isla  del  Padre.1  They 
regarded  the  tide-water  portions  of  the  Texan  rivers  as  their  hunt¬ 
ing  grounds,  but  probably  did  not  occupy  them  for  any  long  sea¬ 
son  of  the  year.  They  appear  to  have  inhabited  the  coast  exclu¬ 
sively.  They  once  inhabited  Refugio  and  La  Bahia  in  the  interior, 
but  did  so  only  because  they  had  been  compelled  by  the  missiona¬ 
ries  and  their  armed  forces  to  settle  upon  these  missions.  But  the 
littoral  districts,  south  of  these  places,  around  Kopano,  were  points 
of  attraction  to  them,  where  they  congregated  in  numbers,  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  fishing  season.  They  wandered  in  bands  of  thirty  to 
forty  people  and  remained  perhaps  four  weeks  at  one  place,  gener¬ 
ally  where  there  was  fresh  water  and  firewood,  to  reappear  there 
again  after  an  absence  of  about  three  months. 

Their  former  presence  in  the  interior  parts  of  southwestern  Texas 
is  marked  by  the  course  of  Taroncahua  creek  (false  for  Karonca- 
lma),  an  affluent  of  Pintos  creek  and  San  Fernando  river;  it  runs 
from  northwest  to  southeast  through  Duval  county,  about  Lat.  28°. 

THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  NATION. 

The  previous  chapter  on  Karankawa  history  has  shown  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  that  were  threatening  not  only  the  independence,  but 
the  very  existence  of  this  littoral  nation.  As  long  as  the  Mexi¬ 
cans  had  control  of  Texas,  they  were  allowed  to  go  their  own  ways  ; 
for  the  easy-going  colonists  did  not  exclude  them  from  their  lands, 
which  they  claimed  probably  for  no  other  use  than  for  horse  and  cat¬ 
tle-pastures.  But  with  the  arrival  of  the  more  active  Anglo-Ameri¬ 
can  race  all  this  underwent  a  change.  The  more  enterprising  among 
the  latter  obtained  “  headrights  ”  or  land  grants  from  the  Mexi¬ 
can  authorities,  stocked  them,  set  out  orchards,  ploughed  and  sowed 
the  agricultural  lands,  and  built  houses,  towns,  fences  and  roads. 
The  fertility  of  the  coast  tracts  attracted  settlers  in  ever  increasing 
numbers,  and  Indian  depredations  could  no  longer  be  tolerated. 
The  clandestine  larcenies  and  murderous  attacks  of  the  Karankawas 
had  to  cease  as  well  as  the  open  robberies  and  truculent  raids  of  the 
Comanches  and  their  savage  allies.  Thus  we  may  say  that  the  des¬ 
tiny  of  the  Karankawas  was  sealed  through  the  increase  of  the  Arner- 

1  Upon  the  northern  end  of  Padre  Island  they  knew  of  a  ford  to  cross  over  to  the 
mainland,  similar  to  the  one  described  under  “  Caronkaway  Point.”  It  was  over  fifteen 
miles  long. 


ITS  DECLINE  AND  EXTINCTION. 


47 


ican  population  in  the  Texan  districts  bordering  upon  the  gulf  of 
Mexico. 

The  heaviest  blow  that  fell  upon  the  Karankawa  Indians  was  their 
flight  to  the  La  Bahia  Mission  after  experiencing  several  defeats  at 
the  hands  of  Texan  volunteers.  If  we  are  correctly  informed,  this 
event  occurred  in  1825,  but  we  do  not  know  how  large  a  proportion 
of  these  Indians  was  affected  by  this  surrender  or  compromise. 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  remnants  of  these  Indians  after 
this  event  were  constantly  wavering  between  the  influence  of  the 
Americans  and  thatof  the  Mexicans,  and  that  the  Indians  were  hated 
by  both  parties.  Two  chiefs  are  mentioned  at  this  epoch  :  Jose  Ma¬ 
ria,  killed  by  the  Mexicans  during  the  war  of  Texan  independence, 
and  his  brother  Antonio,  M'ho  succeeded  him  and  was  married  to  a 
woman  of  Comanche  origin.  Chieftainship  was  hereditary  in  the 
male  line,  and  had  the  son  of  Jose  Maria  not  been  killed  by  the  Mex¬ 
icans,  he  would  have  succeeded  his  father. 

Concerning  this  chief  I  take  the  opportunity  to  publish  the  fol¬ 
lowing  letter  sent  by  an  old  Texas  settler,  A.  B.  Gyle,  to  Mrs.  Alice 
Oliver,  dated  Trespalacios,  September  27,  1882.  This  missive  fur¬ 
nishes  the  proof  that  these  Indians  were  not  always  harshly  treated 
by  the  colonists,  and  it  also  gives  an  insight  into  the  condition  of 
affairs  then  (before  1830)  prevailing  upon  the  coast.  I  reproduce 
also  the  orthography  of  the  letter  (which  is  written  in  a  regular 
hand),  so  as  not  to  deprive  it  of  its  local  color. 

“Friend,  .  .  .  In  reguards  to  the  Indians  you  ask  about,  the 

most  of  the  old  settlers  have  died  since  you  left  here  and  it  is  a  hard 
matter  to  learn  much  about  them  ;  in  the  first  settling  of  Texas,  the 
old  settlers  told  us,  they  were  quite  a  large  tribe  of  Indians  here,  and 
knowing  they  were  always  at  war  with  the  other  tribes  and  whites, 
they  were  reduced  down  to  a  very  small  band  when  I  first  knew  them. 
I  will  relaite  a  story  that  an  old  settler  of  Caney  told  me  not  long 
since.  When  she  was  but  a  child,  they  lived  at  the  afore  said  place 
and  the  Indians  were  camped  on  lower  Caney  and  were  then  hostile, 
her  Father  Mr  Hunter  took  this  opportunity  to  make  a  treety  with 
them,  being  a  very  long  cold  spell  of  wether  —  he  knew  that  the  In¬ 
dians  would  be  suffering — so  Mr  Hunter  took  his  wagon  and  loaded 
it  with  corn,  potatoes  and  pumkins.  and  took  his  rifle  and  kill  two 
or  three  deer  as  he  went  along,  and  proceeded  to  the  camp ;  as 
the  Indians  heard  them  aproaching  they  mustered  to  arms,  thinking 
the  whites  were  a  going  to  make  an  atact  on  them,  Mr  Hunter  rode  a 

111 


48 


THE  KARANKAWA  NATION  AFTER  1835; 


horse  back  on  a  head  of  his  wagon,  and  waved  a  white  hanker- 
chief,  and  cried  viegus  —  megus  —  munclier  megus,1  then  Hozzie 
Merear  the  Chief,  laid  down  his  bow  and  arrow,  and  came  to  him, 
when  Mr  Hunter  told  him  what  he  wanted.  The  treety  was  made 
and  never  broken  by  them,  he  assured  them  that  he  are  any  of  his 
family  should  never  be  molested  by  them.  Years  afterwards  the 
Indians  were  camped  on  the  Trespalacios  bay,  the  Chief  took  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  Indians  with  him.  and  prceeded  up  the  Trespalacios 
River,  when  he  came  to  her  stepfathers  Mr  Lacy  ;  there  they  saw 
her  and  recognized  her  as  Mr  Hunters  daughter,  he  asked  where 
Mr  Hunter  was,  and  she  told  him  that  he  had  been  dead  for  several 
years,  and  he  sighed,  and  said  the  best  friend  to  poor  Indian  was 
gone,  then  he  returned  to  his  canooes  and  proceeded  down  the  river, 
and  that  she  said  was  the  last  she  saw  of  old  Hozzie  Merear. 

I  will  have  to  close,  as  we  are  in  great  haste,  prepairing  to  leave 
this  lower  cuntry.  I  do  not  know  any  thing  consearning  the  Indians 
myself  and  my  brother  Clements  memry  is  so  very  bad  from  old  age 
he  has  forgotten  all  he  knew  about  them.” 

Chief  Jose  Maria,  whose  Indian  name  is  unknown  to  us,  was  at 
that  time  regarded  by  the  colonists  as  a  bellicose,  daring  and  blood- 
thirsty  man.  During  the  war  of  Texan  independence  his  son  Walupe 
(Span.  Guadalupe)  had  been  captured  by  the  Mexicans  and  in  spite 
of  his  youth  (he  was  but  nineteen  }Tears  old)  they  put  him  to  death. 
The  infuriated  father  then  came  with  about  twenty  warriors  on 
board  of  Mr.  Bridges’  vessel  to  announce  to  him  that  bloody  revenge 
would  be  taken  upon  the  Mexicans  for  the  deed.  But  in  their  attack 
upon  the  enemy  the  Indians  were  routed,  and  the  chief  with  almost 
all  his  men  killed  b}r  the  Mexicans. 

A  man  named  Antonio,  who  passed  for  Jose  Maria’s  brother,  suc¬ 
ceeded  him  in  the  chieftaincy.  Mrs.  Oliver  became  acquainted  with 
him  and  his  Comanche  wife  after  1839,  and  on  that  occasion  he 
showed  much  tenderness  for  his  children,  who  had  fallen  sick.  He 
was  killed  bjr  an  accident.  During  his  life  and  after  his  death  the 
tribe  diminished  rapidly  through  consumption  and  other  distempers, 
and  also  through  frequent  brawls  caused  by  intoxication. 

E.  Kriwitz,  whose  article  upon  the  Texas  tribes  was  published 
in  1851,  but  was  composed  much  earlier,  knew  of  ten  or  twelve 
Karankawa  families  of  poor  fishers,  who  then  lived  upon  Aransas 

Spanish  words :  “  amigos,  amigos,  mucho  amigos,”  friends,  good  friends! 

112 


ITS  DECLINE  AND  EXTINCTION. 


49 


bay  and  Nueces  river.1  Miililenpfordt,  d.  Freistaat  Texas,  p.  120, 
states  that  on  account  of  the  paucity  of  the  Indians  of  the  coast, 
two  French  missionaries,  Odin  and  Estany,  made  endeavors  in  1842 
to  unite  the  remnants  of  the  Karankawa  with  those  of  other  tribes 
into  a  mission.  Perhaps  this,  in  connection  with  the  report  that 
a  priest  brought  some  of  that  tribe  to  Isla  del  Padre  to  educate  and 
protect  them  there  from  the  revengeful  blows  of  the  colonists, 
started  the  rumor  that  all  Karankawas  left  the  mainland  of  Texas 
at  that  time. 

The  following  occurrence  is  sufficiently  substantiated  by  contem¬ 
poraneous  evidence  to  be  regarded  as  true.  Some  of  the  tribe  were 
encamped  near  Kemper’s  bluff  on  the  Guadelupe  river,  fifteen  miles 
south  of  Victoria,  the  Kemper  family  being  then  the  only  whites 
living  near  that  camp.  One  day  three  or  four  Karankawas  demanded 
of  Mr.  Kemper  a  beef  which  he  had  just  killed.  He  threatened  to 
shoot  them  if  they  did  not  vacate  his  premises.  Then  one  of  the 
Indians  shot  an  arrow  at  Kemper,  which  caused  his  death  within 
a  few  hours.  The  Indians,  anticipating  an  attack,  fled  down  the 
Guadalupe  river  in  their  canoes  and  coasted  along  the  shores  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  passing  over  to  Isla  del  Padre.  John 
Henry  Brown,  an  old  Texan  settler  now  residing  in  Dallas,  states 
that  the  murder  of  Mr.  Kemper  took  place  in  November,  1844,  and 
that  after  this  these  Indians  were  never  seen  east  of  Aransas  river 
again,2  but  is  wrong  when  he  states  that  “  they  became  entirely  ex¬ 
tinct  upon  the  lower  Rio  Grande  and  on  Padre  island  in  1845  or 
1846.” 

Another  report  of  a  contemporary  states  that  about  1843  the  rem¬ 
nant  of  the  Karankawa  tribe,  about  forty  or  fifty  people,  applied  to 
the  Mexican  government  for  permission  to  settle  south  of  the  Rio 
Grande  and  this  having  been  granted,  emigrated  to  these  parts. 
(Baker,  D.  W.  C.  Texas  Scrap  Book,  1875.) 

It  appears  that  the  Karankawas  who  fled  into  Mexico  about  that 
time  consisted  of  two  bodies.  One  settled  upon  Padre  island,  prob¬ 
ably  its  southern  end,  and  the  reports  upon  their  fate  or  extinction 
are  sensational3  and  conflicting  ;  the  other  went  directly  into  Tam- 
aulipas,  and  the  following  piece  is  an  extract  of  the  Reports  of  the 

»  In  Berghaus’  geograph,  Zeitschrift;  cf.  Busclimann,  Spuren,  p.  429. 

3  Correspondence  with  B.  W.  Austin,  Dallas,  Feb.  11,  18S9. 

s  Cf.  Reid,  Sam.  C.,  jr„  MacCulloch’s  Texas  Rangers  in  1816,  Phila.,  1847,  illustr.,  p. 
46. 

P.  M.  PAPERS.  I.  8  H3 


50 


THE  KARANKAWA  NATION  AFTER  1835  ; 


Mexican  Border  Commission 1  upon  this  subject,  which  was  the  re¬ 
sult  of  the  investigations  concluded  at  Reynosa,  Tamaulipas,  on 
Dec.  10,  1872  (pp.  404-407)  : 

“  The  Carancahuases,  Indians  from  Texas,  were  mentioned  at 
Reynosa  by  some  witnesses  who  in  1872  testified  that  this  tribe  had 
been  driven  into  Mexico  by  American  troops  since  1848,  and  had 
obtained  an  asylum.  In  1688  this  tribe  lived  on  the  bay  of  Espiritu 
Santo,  where  it  was  found  by  the  governor  of  Coahuila,  Don  Alonso 
de  Leon,  when,  by  order  of  the  Vicero}'  of  Mexico,  he  marched  with 
troops  to  that  point  to  drive  away  the  French,  who  had  gained  a 
footing  there.  It  was  found  that^ these  Frenchmen  had  already  been 
massacred  by  the  Carancahuases,  who  remained  in  the  same  region 
even  after  the  colonization  of  Texas  by  Don  Jose  Valdivieso,  Mar¬ 
quis  of  San  Miguel  de  Aguayo,  who,  in  1719,  penetrated  as  far  as 
Red  river,  boundary  between  Texas  and  Louisiana.  The  colony 
brought  soon  after  by  the  marquis  from  the  Canary  islands  did  not 
disturb  these  Carancahuases,  otherwise  called  Tampacuases. 

“  These  Indians,  few  in  number  when  Texas  ceased  to  belong  to 
Mexico,  were  driven  thence,  and  were,  in  1852,  located  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Reynosa  at  ‘La  Mesa’  and  other  points.  Yield¬ 
ing  to  the  habits  of  their  vagabond  life,  the}'  soon  manifested  their 
inclination  to  plunder,  obliging  the  authorities  of  that  town  to  or¬ 
ganize  troops,  and  reduce  them  to  order.  General  Avalos  inter¬ 
fered  in  the  case  by  virtue  of  instructions  from  the  general  govern¬ 
ment,  took  them  under  his  protection,  and  removed  them  to  the 
center  of  Tamaulipas,  not  far  from  Burgos.  There  they  gave  oc¬ 
casion  to  dispute  between  the  government  of  Nuevo  Leon  and  Ta¬ 
maulipas,  which  led  to  their  being  carried  to  their  former  place  of 
residence  near  Reymosa.  Being  again  attacked  on  account  of  rob¬ 
beries,  the  tribe  removed  to  Texas,  and  on  the  26th  of  October, 
1858,  the  judge  of  Rosario  sent  the  following  report  to  the  mayor 
of  Reynosa : 

“  ‘In  pursuance  of  your  orders  of  the  23d  instant,  for  the  arrest 
of  the  Carancahuases,  I  took  measures  for  that  purpose,  but  find¬ 
ing  that  they  are  now  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  beyond 
the  limits  of  my  authority,  at  the  place  called  “  Uresteua,”  I  in¬ 
formed  the  authorities  at  Rosario  and  Banon,  to  the  end  that  they 
on  the  American  side  and  we  on  this  side  may  combine  for  their 

i  <i  Translated  from  the  official  edition  made  in  Mexico,”  and  printed  in  New  Tork 
1875,  8vo.,  pp.  113. 

114 


ITS  DECLINE  AND  EXTINCTION. 


51 


arrest,  since,  besides  the  horses  they  have  carried  off,  they  have 
committed  other  robberies  at  La  Mesa.  With  tiie  inhabitants  of 
this  district,  I  have  explored  all  this  region  in  their  pursuit.’ 

“  The  history  of  these  Indians  terminates  with  an  attack  made 
upon  them  in  the  said  year,  1858,  by  Juan  Nepomuceno  Cortina, 
then  a  citizen  of  Texas,  along  with  other  rancheros,  when  they  were 
surprised  at  their  hiding  place  in  Texas,  and  were  exterminated. 

“These  Carancahuases  were  undoubtedly  the  ‘other  Indians’ 
referred  toby  the  American  commission  in  connection  with  the  Lip- 
ans,  Kickapoos,  Seminoles  and  Carrizos.1  They  were  the  only  ones 
known  in  Tamaulipas  of  whom  information  could  be  had  at  Browns¬ 
ville  and  the  accuracy  of  such  information  may  now  be  readily  in¬ 
ferred.” 

That  the  Karankawas  were  called  there  Tampacuas  is  possible, 
because  their  remnants  had  settled  at  the  place  so  called,  which  now 
exists  as  a  rancheria  in  the  southernmost  part  of  Texas,  Hidalgo 
county,  about  twenty  miles  north  of  Rio  Grande.  The  name  sig¬ 
nifies  “  place  of  Pakawas,”  and  points  to  the  fact  that  it  had 
been  a  settlement  of  the  Palkawa,  Pakawa  or  Pinto  (“  Tattoed”) 
tribe,  which  is  mentioned  among  other  cognate  tribes  upon  the  title 
page  of  Garcia’s  Manual  (1760).  That  they  were  congeners  of  the 
Karankawas  also,  is  very  probable  from  what  will  be  mentioned 
below.  It  is  rather  natural  that  when  the  Karankawa  had  to  quit 
their  own  country,  they  took  refuge  with  a  people  related  to  them, 
and  they  were  themselves  tattooed  also ;  not  only  in  the  face,  but  on 
other  parts  of  the  body  besides,  and  so  they  could  possibly  be 
called  by  that  name  as  well. 

The  man  from  whom  I  obtained  a  Cotoname  vocabulary  faintly 
remembered  their  stay  in  the  country,  and  called  them  yahna  Aran- 
guas,  Arangwa  Indians ,  and  Indios  por  aqui.  He  thought  that 
some  may  be  still  in  existence,  but  could  not  tell  where. 

1  All  of  these  and  “  other  tribes  ”  were  said  to  have  committed  depredations  lately, 
having  been  sheltered  in  Coahuila  and  Chihuahua,  and  enabled  thereby  to  invade 
Texas  with  impunity.  But  the  investigations  of  the  Commission  have  shown  that  the 
Carrizos  and  Carancahuas  were  extinct  since  185S  and  the  other  tribes  had  not  depre¬ 
dated  that  vicinity  for  many  years  past. 


115 


Y.  ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF  THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


Through  tlie  personal  presence  of  my  informant  among  the  Ka- 
rankawa  Indians  our  knowledge  of  their  manners,  customs  and 
ethnic  peculiarities  has  become  much  more  accurate  and  extensive 
than  our  knowledge  of  their  tribal  history  will  ever  be.  Certainly 
there  are  many  gaps  left  concerning  the  mode  of  life,  tribal  gov¬ 
ernment  and  religion  of  their  littoral  tribes,  but  now  we  have  at 
least  some  points  to  hold  on  and  these  may  become  more  fully  sub¬ 
stantiated  by  researches  on  their  language. 

The  ethnographic  material  now  on  hand  I  have  subdivided  into 
two  parts.  One  of  these  will  consider  the  nation  from  its  physical 
or  natural  side  (bodily  constitution,  food,  implements,  dress,  etc.)  ; 
the  second  section  describes  its  mental  aspects  (government,  cus¬ 
toms,  religion,  etc.).  The  whole  is  preceded  by  a  few  words  on 
the  country  and  its  climate,  for  these  are  at  the  foundation  of  every 
ethnographic  peculiarity. 

THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  CLIMATE. 

The  tide-water  section  of  Texas  inhabited  by  the  Karankawas 
presents  but  little  variation  in  its  configuration.  The  shore  line 
from  Galveston  to  the  Rio  Grande  is  formed  throughout  by  sand 
bars  with  narrow  openings  between,  except  upon  the  short  stretch 
from  the  mouth  of  Oyster  creek  and  Brazos  river  to  Caney  creek, 
where  the  mainland  borders  immediately  upon  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  By  these  sand  bars  the  mouths  of  the  Texan  riv¬ 
ers  are  protected  from  clogging,  and  to  some  extent  also  from  the 
furious  tempests  blowing  from  the  Gulf  side.  The  quiet  waters  of 
the  lagoons,  closed  in  between  the  mainland  and  the  sand  bars,  make 
it  possible  to  catch  fish,  oysters  and  turtles  at  almost  any  season 
of  the  year  and  enabled  the  Indians  to  start  out  upon  their  maris- 
cadas  at  regular  periods.  The  shore  line  was  partly  wooded,  espe¬ 
cially  along  the  river  courses,  and  therefore  gave  shelter  to  large 
numbers  of  game,  of  which  the  supply  was  almost  inexhaustible. 
Other  portions  of  the  shore  were  prairie  lands,  studded  with  prickly 
pears,  fragrant  weeds  and  flowers,  and  in  de  la  Salle’s  time,  and 
probably  up  into  the  nineteenth  century,  the  buffalo  was  seen  in 
herds  upon  the  coast. 

116 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


53 


The  geological  feature  of  the  coast  line  consists,  according  to  the 
Texas  map  of  A.  R.  Roessler  and  M.  v.  Mittendorfer,  1874,  of  the 
following  formations:  From  Sabine  river  to  Carancahua  bay  in 
Jackson  county,  of  red  alluvial  loam  mixed  with  sand.  From  Car¬ 
ancahua  bay  to  the  Mission  river  and  Rio  Medio,  its  affluent  in 
Refugio  county,  of  a  dark  clayey  prairie  soil  of  good  agricultural 
qualities.  From  there  southward  to  the  Rio  Grande  of  a  calcare¬ 
ous  loam,  forming  the  best  of  pasture  lands.  At  distances  vary¬ 
ing  from  thirty  to  over  one  hundred  miles  from  the  coast  there  are 
oval  tracts  of  land  called  liogwallows  running  parallel  to  the  coast 
line.  This  name  was  given  them  on  account  of  the  unevenness  of 
the  surface,  caused  by  cracks  during  drought ;  thejr  consist  of 
black  tenacious  clay  slightly  mixed  with  vegetable  mould. 

The  coast  lagoons  are  shallow  and  the  water  so  low  that  in  many 
of  them  people  may  wade  out  for  a  mile  without  losing  ground. 
The  large  or  dangerous  fish  and  mollusks  do  not  come  very  near  the 
beach  and  this  enabled  the  Indians  to  walk  far  out  into  the  water 
to  shoot  the  fish  with  their  arrows.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
most  of  these  lagoons  have  a  triangular  shape  ;  the  base  is  formed 
by  a  line  forming  the  continuation  of  a  river  entering  the  bay,  the 
second  side  by  the  sand  bar  and  the  third  irregular  one  by  a  series 
of  inlets  and  the  mouths  of  smaller  rivers,  bayous  and  creeks. 
The  lagoons  as  they  follow  each  other  from  east  to  west  are  called 
as  follows:  (1)  Galveston  bay  with  its  subdivisions:  East  baj’-, 
Trinity  bay  with  Turtle  bay,  Clear  lake,  Dollar  bay,  West  bay  and 
Oyster  bay.  (2)  Matagorda  bay  with  its  subdivisions  :  Oyster 
lake,  Trespalacios  bay,  Carancahua  bay,  Lavaca  bay.  (3)  Es- 
piritu  Santo  bay,  with  its  northern  extension,  called  San  Antonio 
bay.  (4)  Aransas  bay  with  its  subdivisions :  St.  Charles  bay, 
Copano,  Mission  and  Fuerte  ba}r.  (5)  Corpus  Christi  bay  with 
Nueces  bay.  (6)  Laguna  de  la  Madre  with  Salt  lagoon. 

We  may  assume  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty  that  these  la¬ 
goons  with  all  their  sidewaters  were  once  the  haunts  of  the  skilful 
fishermen  and  intrepid  hunters  of  the  coast  tribe  which  occupies  our 
attention. 

The  Indians  who  spoke  the  dialect  of  Karankawa  transmitted  by 
Mrs.  Oliver  had  their  principal  haunts  along  the  shores  of  Mata¬ 
gorda  bay,  formerly  St.  Bernard  bay,  and  her  father’s  house,  with 
his  Mexican  land-grant  of  one  square  league,  lay  in  the  midst  of  the 
resorts  most  frequented  by  them.  It  was  built  upon  the  beach  at  Port 

117- 


54 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


Austin,  at  the  entrance  of  Trespalacios  bay,  one  and  one-half  miles 
from  Trespalacios  and  about  eighteen  miles  (by  water)  east  of  De- 
cros  House  at  Decros  point,  which  forms  the  western  end  of  the 
Matagorda  peninsula  or  sand  bar.  Port  Austin  was  at  a  distance 
of  twenty-five  miles  from  Matagorda  city,  the  lower  course  of  the 
Colorado  river  intervening  between  the  two  places.  The  nearest 
settlers  lived  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  and  at  Palacios  there 
were  then  not  over  four  houses.  At  Carancalma  bay  there  was  a 
tract  called  Carancalma  Land,  but  these  Indians  did  not  stop  there 
any  more  than  they  did  at  any  other  place.  From  1840  to  1850 
there  were  only  two  American  settlers  there.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  bay,  Linville,  destroyed  in  1843  by  the  Comanches,  lay  a  few 
miles  above  the  site  of  the  present  Indianola,  then  called  Indian 
point.  In  winter  these  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  staying  in  the 
woods  on  the  Colorado  river  and  at  Caney  creek,  because  it  was 
warmer  there,  and  there  they  could  gather  pecan-nuts  and  hunt 
bears.  In  summer  the  fertile  tracts  on  the  Caney  are  unbearably 
hot  and  unhealth)',  the  woods  producing  fevers.  The  surface  of 
the  creek  is  always  covered  with  a  green  film,  which  the  settlers 
utilize  for  manuring  their  sugar  and  cotton  plantations. 

The  bleak  shores  of  Matagorda  peninsula,  consisting  of  sand 
and  sand  hills,  yielded  much  wreckage  that  was  floated  ashore. 
Decros  point,  which  lies  upon  the  Pass  Cavallo,  was  since  January 
1851  enlivened  by  becoming  a  halting  place  for  the  steamer-line 
of  Harris  and  Morgan  plying  between  Texas  ports  and  New  Or¬ 
leans. 

Around  Port  Austin  the  soil  was  filled  with  little  lumps  of  pumice- 
stone,  some  of  the  pieces  being  as  large  as  a  man’s  head.  Marine 
shells  lie  all  over  the  prairie,  as  far  as  six  miles  inland,  but  on  the 
surface  only.  A  petrified  log  was  also  found  there.  Dr.  Sibley 
mentions  a  “bluff”  upon  an  “island  or  peninsula  occupied  by  Ka- 
rankawas,  containing  a  combustible  substance,  which  had  then  been 
on  fire  for  several  years,  emitting  smoke  and  shining  at  night  into 
great  distances.  From  this  burning  ledge  particles  are  detached 
by  the  action  of  the  waves  and  a  substance  like  gum  or  pitch  is 
thrown  ashore,  which  is  called  cheta  by  the  Spanish  people.  The 
Indians  are  fond  of  masticating  it.”  Mrs.  Oliver  stated  that  as- 
phaltum  was  often  washed  ashore  and  used  by  the  Indians  for  black 
paint  after  mixing  it  with  oil ;  but  where  that  “burning  hill”  was, 
is  uncertain. 


118 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


55 


There  were  many  mounds  in  the  prairie,  looking  like  graves  and 
always  over  ten  feet  apart.  Nothing  was  found  in  them,  but  they 
seemed  made  by  man  and  not  nature’s  products. 

Salt  deposits  were  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood,  which  were 
conspicuous  on  the  shore  by  the  lack  of  grass  and  vegetation.  They 
originated  by  the  floods  breaking  over  the  shores  and  leaving  de¬ 
posits  of  salt.  The  Indians  made  no  use  of  the  salt,  as  they  pre¬ 
ferred  chile  to  season  their  food. 

The  climate  of  the  coast  is  much  cooler  than  that  of  the  interior 
of  Texas,  which  often  becomes  unbearably  hot  where  the  country 
is  bare  of  trees  or  underbrush.  This  result  is  produced  by  the  gulf 
breeze  which  every  afternoon  begins  to  blow  from  south  to  north 
from  about  three  o’clock  until  after  dusk.  This  gulf  breeze  is 
sweeping  the  country  almost  up  to  the  middle  course  of  Red  river, 
which  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  Texas.  Sudden  squalls  are 
not  unfrequent  upon  the  coast  lagoons,  and  hurricanes  are  rare 
but  very  destructive  when  they  occur.  In  1853  or  1854  a  terrible 
tornado  dismantled  and  destroyed  the  house  where  my  informant 
lived,  and  killed  cattle  in  large  numbers  by  driving  them  into  the 
waters  of  the  bay.  Scarcely  could  the  inmates  save  their  own  lives, 
as  the  wind  blew  furiously  during  a  whole  night.  The  northers  are 
heavy  periodical  winds  blowing  from  the  north  and  northwest  and 
sweeping  the  whole  interior  of  Texas  and  of  Mexico  from  the 
Louisiana  border  to  Tampico.  They  check  the  growth  of  vegeta¬ 
tion  and  are  much  dreaded  by  the  population.  In  Matamoros  the 
northers  are  blowing  thirty-seven  days  in  the  year  for  an  average. 

The  fauna  and  the  flora  of  the  Texan  coast  have  been  too  often 
described  by  naturalists  and  travellers  to  need  repetition.  It  will 
suffice  to  recall  a  few  facts  concerning  both. 

Herds  of  buffaloes  came  down  to  the  coast  in  de  la  Salle’s  time 
and  probably  much  later.  Prairie-wolves  were  frequent  on  Mata¬ 
gorda  bay  as  late  as  1850  ;  they  fed  chiefly  on  fawns  but,  when 
these  were  scarce  they  became  desperate  and  attacked  other  ani¬ 
mals  and,  when  united  in  packs,  were  even  dangerous  to  man.  Deer 
were  so  plentiful  that  some  could  be  shot  from  the  windows  of  the 
settlers’  houses. 

Many  birds  of  brilliant  plumage  lived  in  the  prairie,  but  few 
songsters.  Water-fowl,  such  as  brants,  geese  and  ducks  were  plen¬ 
tiful.  Wild  turkeys  were  common  in  the  woods.  The  turkey-buz¬ 
zards  were  regarded  as  useful  birds  and  never  killed  by  the  Indian 

119 


56 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


population.  The  fish  and  amphibians  are  mentioned  elsewhere  (in 
Mr.  Hammond’s  article).  The  octopus,  or  squid,  did  not  come  so 
near  the  shores  of  the  lagoons  as  to  endanger  the  lives  of  the  coast 
Indians,  who  passed  their  lives  more  upon  the  water  than  on  terra 
firma.  The  manta ,  or  “blanket-fish,”1  prefers  deep  waters  and 
does  not  trouble  the  fishing  population  to  any  degree. 

The  vegetation  around  the  coast  lagoons  mostly  consists  of  weeds 
and  flowers,  as  but  a  small  part  of  these  regions  is  wooded.  Grease- 
wood,  however,  is  frequent.  A  great  variety  of  flowers  embellished 
these  prairies  in  spring  and  summer.  As  early  as  February  the 
prairies  around  Trespalacios  bay  appear  so  full  of  white  flowers, 
that  the  green  grass  can  no  longer  be  seen  among  them  ;  in  March 
everything  appears  red  from  a  profusion  of  red  geraniums,  with  a 
glutinous  sap.  In  May  the  colors  become  more  variegated,  and 
blue  rivals  with  white,  pink  and  yellow-colored  flowers,  while  in  the 
autumn  purple  and  yellow  will  predominate.  In  places  where  the 
grass  is  removed,  a  species  of  daffodil  opens  its  petals  after  dusk. 
All  these  prairie  growths  were  often  destroyed  by  ravaging  prairie- 
fires  ;  when  these  became  dangerous  by  approaching  the  camps  and 
settlements,  the  Indians  and  whites  fought  them  by  slapping  the  fire 
with  brushwood.  Nevertheless  houses  were  sometimes  destroyed 
by  their  fury. 


PHYSICAL  CHARACTER. 

The  appearance  of  the  Karankawa  men  and  women  can  now  only 
be  described  from  the  impression  it  made  on  persons  who  lived  in 
their  country,  as  we  have  no  accurate  anthropologic  data  or  meas¬ 
urements  to  determine  it  scientifically. 

All  witnesses  from  earlier  and  later  epochs  are  unanimous  in 
describing  their  men  as  very  tall,  magnificently  formed,  strongly 
built  and  approaching  perfection  in  their  bodily  proportions.  Many 
southerners  regarded  them  as  giants,  and  Mrs.  Oliver  ventured  the 
opinion  that  they  measured  about  five  feet  and  ten  inches.2  No 


1  This  large  fish,  Ceplialoptera  manta,  Bancroft,  is  described  in  Jordan  and  Gil¬ 
bert.  Bull,  of  U.  S.  Museum,  1882,  p.  52,  and  in  Zoolog.  Journal.  1S28-1S29;  iv,  444. 

2  A  committee  on  anthi  opometry  was  appointed  in  1875  by  the  British  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  which  has  published  the  results  of  measurements  of  va¬ 
rious  nations  and  tribes  of  all  parts  of  the  globe  since  1S7S.  On  the  stature  of  persons 
we  find  (he  following  statement: 

Samoans  meter  1.853  feet  5,10  97 

Polynesians  in  general  1.762  5,  9.33 

English  professional  class  1.757  5,  9.14 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


57 


skeletons  or  skulls  are  known  to  exist,  which  could  give  a  decisive 
proof  of  this  statement.  Their  hair  was  as  coarse  as  that  of  horses, 
and  perhaps  owing  to  their  being  bareheaded,  it  often  assumed'a 
reddish  hue.  They  were  not  prognathic  nor  showed  they  more  than 
ordinary  Indian  proportions  in  their  cheekbones  or  in  the  thyroid 
cartilage  (Adam’s  apple)  ;  but  their  foreheads  were  mostly  low 
and  broad,  and  the  heads  larger  than  those  of  the  Anglo-American 
race.  All  had  splendid  white  teeth,  even  in  their  older  years. 

A  considerable  difference  was  perceptible  between  the  deport¬ 
ment  of  males  and  that  of  females.  That  of  the  men  was,  even 
when  their  bodies  were  of  a  heavy  exterior,  free,  lithe  and  graceful. 
Their  complexion  was  rather  light-colored  than  of  the  cinnamon 
hue,  since  they  ate  more  venison  than  fish.  Although  their  jaws 
looked  heavy,  their  chin  was  small  and  their  lips  thin,  which  agreed 
well  with  the  long  and  slender  hands  and  feet  observed  in  many  in¬ 
dividuals.  In  some  cases,  the  fingers  tapered  off  most  gracefully 
and  ended  in  delicate-looking  nails,  the  palm  of  the  hand  showing 
no  callosities.  Many  men  wore  the  hair  so  long  as  to  reach  the 
waist,  and  while  sitting  on  their  mats  of  skins  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  crossing  the  legs. 

The  exterior  of  the  women  was  in  many  respects  just  the  reverse 
of  their  male  companions.  Weighted  down  by  the  drudgery  of 
domestic  toil  they  looked  sullen,  morose  and  uninviting.  Being 
shorter  than  the  men  they  surpassed  them  in  embonpoint ,  were 
quite  plain  and  even  in  youth  not  pretty.  They  showed  no  fancy  for 
wearing  ornaments.  Very  few  children  could  be  seen  about  their 
lodges  and  of  young  girls  almost  none,  and  it  is  very  probable  that 
the  men  in  the  tribe  exceeded  the  women  numerically.  The  blood 
was  kept  pure,  since  but  a  few  mixed  bloods  could  be  noticed. 


Patagonians 
Iroquois  Indians 
North  American  Indians 
Ojibwe  Indians 
Bushmen  (Africa) 


1.754 

5,  9.00 

1.735 

5,  8.28 

1.726 

5,  7.93 

1.700 

5,  6.90 

1.341 

4,  4.78 

Average  stature  of  men 


meter.  1.65S 


feet.  5,  5.25 


(Extract  from  American  Naturalist.  1884,  pp.  646,  647.) 

When  our  informant  spoke  of  the  tall  stature  of  the  Karankawa,  she  referred  to  the 
men  only,  not  to  the  women  who  are  distinctly  described  as  short  and  squatty.  Five 
feet  and  ten  inches  are  equal  to  1.805  m.;  thus  the  Samoans  would  be  the  only  people  sur¬ 
passing  the  Karankawa  men  in  height,  and  this  is  based  upon  the  old  observations  of 
Lapeyrouse.  Of  our  southern  Indians  now  extant  the  Osages  are  popularly  believed 
to  be  the  tallest. 


121 


58 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


Children  not  yet  able  to  walk  were  carried  by  tlie  mother  on  the 
back  wrapped  in  the  loop  of  the  skin  worn  by  her.  They  used  no 
cradles,  but  baby- boards.  The  babe  was  fastened  to  one  of  these 
which  had  the  outlines  of  a  child’s  body  and  was  suspended  to  the 
ceiling  of  the  lodge,  by  the  thongs  of  a  deerskin.  While  there¬ 
by  its  body  became  straight,  the  forehead  of  the  baby  was  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  flattening  process.  The  children  were  rather  quiet 
and  cried  but  rarely.  The  boys  very  probably  had  their  initiation 
trials  like  those  of  other  Indians,  but  ceremonies  connected  with 
the  puberty  of  girls  have  not  been  noticed  among  them  by  the  white 
settlers. 

The  perfect  physical  condition  of  the  people  appears  from  the 
fact,  that  our  informant  never  saw  an}'  deaf,  mute,  nor  any  case  of 
squinting,  though  one  lame  man  and  two  blind  women  came  to 
her  notice.  The  Karankawas  were  blessed  with  a  sound  appetite, 
for  they  were  seen  eating  and  drinking  at  all  times  of  the  day ; 
after  the  settlers  had  finished  their  meals  they  appeared  around  the 
houses  to  ask  for  food. 


FOOD. 

The  duty  of  procuring  food  for  the  family  devolved  upon  the  men, 
exclusively,  and  that  of  preparing  it  for  the  meals  upon  the  wo¬ 
men.  There  was  no  difficult}'  of  procuring  deer-meat  and  ducks, 
for  they  were  as  plentiful  as  could  be  wished.  Of  the  latter,  Cap¬ 
tain  Bridges  once  shot  ninety  before  breakfast  time.  The  other 
animals  hunted  by  the  Indians  were  the  bear  (at  some  distance 
from  the  lagoons)  and  the  rabbit ;  of  birds,  the  brant  and  othergeese 
with  their  eggs  ;  of  shellfish,  the  oyster,  which  they  ate  on  the  shell. 

Of  fish,  it  was  only  the  larger  species  which  they  caught,  like  the 
salt-water  trout  and  the  “red  fish,”  which  resembles  the  codfish.1 
They  never  used  nets  or  angling  lines.  Of  turtles,  the  great  green 
turtle,  hai'tnlukn,  often  3£  feet  long,  was  brought  by  them  to  the 
shore  alive  and  then  killed  and  eaten.  The  lagoons  teemed  with 
porpoises,  but  the  Indians  did  not  hunt  for  them.  The  shooting  of 
fish  by  means  of  arrows  is  found  with  other  tribes  as  well.  The 
Omaha  Indians  used  a  special  kind  of  arrows,  without  heads,  for  the 
purpose;  cf.  Mag.  Am.  History,  N.  Y.,  1839,  vol.  xxii,  p.  78; 
J.  A.  Villa  Senor,  Theatro  Americano,  i,  p.  400,  sq.,  states  that 

5  Other  fish  caught  by  them  are  enumerated  in  Mr.  Hammond’s  article,  which  also 
describes  the  mode  of  killing  them. 

122 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


59 


the  Seris  in  the  gulf  of  California,  pierce  fish  on  the  salt  water 
with  arrows:  “los  peces  que  (los  Seris)  fisgan  a  flechazos  en  el 
mar.” 

Although  these  Indians  were  not  agriculturists  and  had  no  maize, 
their  vegetable  food  was  as  varied  as  that  obtained  from  ani¬ 
mals,  for  which  they  cared  much  more.  The  soil  contains  a  bul¬ 
bous  nut,  without  shell,  which  they  dug  and  ate  without  cooking  j1 
other  bulbs  were  utilized  also,  and  berries  were  eaten.  Though 
salt  was  so  near  at  hand,  they  used  chile  for  seasoning,  like  the 
Mexicans.  The  tunas  or  cactus-figs  grow  there  abundantly,  but 
the  Indians  valued  them  but  little,  though  in  Cabe^a  de  Vaca’s 
time  it  was  a  staple  food  on  the  coast,  and  one  tribe  was  named  af¬ 
ter  these  succulent  fruits  (Los  de  los  Higos,  p.  23).  The  Karan- 
kawas,  after  obtaining  a  quantity,  laid  them  in  the  sand  and  rolled 
them  with  their  feet  until  the  sharp  prickles  were  removed.  The 
white  settlers  made  pies  of  them.  The  Indians  also  ate  the  per¬ 
simmon,  this  being  the  only  fruit  growing  there  on  trees. 

The  cookery  of  these  natives  was  a  rather  simple  affair.  Every 
lodge  had  but  one  iron  kettle,  but  several  made  of  pottery,  all  un¬ 
washed.  Instead  of  mortars  the  women  used  cylindric  low  stones 
for  mashing  and  grinding  fruits  or  seeds,  a  larger  stone  being  used 
upon  these  for  crushing.  They  prepared  but  one  kind  of  pottery 
from  clay,  the  vases  having  a  globular  bottom,  so  that  they  had  to 
be  placed  into  a  hole  in  the  sand.  They  had  no  handles  and  meas¬ 
ured  in  diameter  about  twelve  inches.  Mrs.  Oliver  observed  their 
manufacture  but  once  ;  then  it  was  a  man  who  made  some  pots  and 
ornamented  them  on  the  outside  with  little  designs,  faces,  scrolls, 
scallops,  etc.,  in  black  paint. 

When  the  Indians  could  not  beg  bread  enough  from  the  settlers, 
or  molasses  and  other  food,  they  mixed  flour  with  water,  laid  the 
dough  upon  a  flat  stone  and  thus  set  it  to  the  fire  for  baking.  Meat 
was  boiled  or  roasted  on  the  coals,  oysters  were  cracked  in  the  fire 
and  then  eaten.  They  liked  coffee  very  much  and  wanted  it  sweet. 

The  species  of  fish  eaten  by  the  Indians  and  their  method  of 
killing  them  are  described  in  Mr.  Hammond’s  article.  They  often 
caught  more  fish  than  they  could  dispose  of,  and  then  bartered  them 
to  the  whites  for  household  articles. 

In  that  part  of  the  coast  the  Indians  always  managed  to  get 

1  This  ground  nut  had  appendages  consisting  of  long  fibres,  or  films,  and  was  of 
thimble  size.  It  tasted  better  than  the  peanut. 


123 


60 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


pure,  fresh  water,  though  the  whites  did  uot  know  where  they  ob¬ 
tained  it.  The  colonists  had  wells, no  cisterns  ;  the  water  of  these 
wells  was  always  of  a  brackish  taste. 

Of  domestic  animals  they  kept  only  the  dog,  who  was  of  the 
coyote  or  wolf-like  species  as  mentioned  above.1  They  kept  many 
of  these,  but  since  they  were  an  erratic  people  and  performed  their 
wanderings  by  canoe,  they  never  had  cattle  nor  horses,  and  when 
mounting  horses  showed  themselves  a  poor  sort  of  cavalry. 

CANOES. 

Their  canoes  were  of  two  kinds,  both  being  called  awa'n  by 
them  :  (1)  the  aboriginal  dugout ,  about  twenty  feet  long,  narrow, 
yet  capacious  ;  (2)  old  skiffs  obtained  from  the  whites,  much  broad¬ 
er  than  the  dugouts  and  flat-bottomed.  A  mast  with  a  little  sail 
was  occasionally  set  up,  but  for  want  of  space  the}’’  were  never 
seen  paddling  or  rowing  them.  Mrs.  Oliver  states  that  neither  of 
the  two  was  used  for  fishing,  but  served  for  transportation  only  ; 
and  these  embarkations  were  so  frail  and  untrustwortl^  that  they 
could  never  have  ventured  to  go  out  upon  the  open  waters  of  the 
gulf.  The  dugouts  were  not  made  smooth  upon  the  outside,  but 
had  the  bark  still  on. 


DRESS. 

Their  articles  of  wardrobe  were  exceedingly  few  in  number, 
and  before  the  advent  of  the  whites  they  probably  moved  about  in 
a  perfectly  adamitic  state,  except  during  the  coldest  time  of  the 
year.  Hats  or  head-covers  were  unknown.  The  men  wore  a 
breechclout  of  skins,  the  women  a  skirt  of  deerskin  ;  from  the  knee 
downward  nothing  was  worn,  and  children  under  ten  years  went 
nude.  Blankets  (kwi'ss),  obtained  from  the  colonists,  were  worn 
only  during  cold  weather,  but  skirts  and  all  other  garments  used 
by  the  Texans  were  disliked.  Women  sometimes  begged  for 
dresses  (kwiss  kadla,  calico ),  wore  them  once  or  twice,  then  tore 
them  to  pieces  or  had  them  on  for  some  time  with  the  fore  parts  on 


1  Dr.  I.  L.  Wortman  states  in  Rep.  Geol.  Survey  of  Indiana,  1S84:  “It  is  by  no 
means  uncommon  to  find  mongrel  dogs  among  many  of  the  western  tribes,  notably 
among  Umatillas,  Bannocks,  Shoshones,  Arapahoes,  Crows,  Sioux,  which  have  every 
appearance  of  blood-relationship  with  the  coyote,  if  not,  in  many  cases  it  is  this  ani¬ 
mal  itself  in  a  state  of  semi-domestication.”  See  also  Anwr.  Naturalist,  1873,  p.  385; 
“Native  American  Dogs,”  ibid.,  September,  1S85,  and  reprinted  in  Kansas  City  Review, 
Nov.,  1885,  pp.  239-243,  from  which  the  above  quotation  is  made. 

124 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


61 


their  backs.  The  blankets  were  fastened  upon  their  bodies  with 
guisache- thorns  serving  as  pins.  The  sharks’  oil  which  they  rubbed 
on  their  bodies  to  keep  their  skins  smooth  and  supple,  emitted  a 
most  disagreeable  odor,  so  that  horses  and  cattle  ran  away  from 
them,1  sometimes  for  three  miles  from  the  stable,  and  this  oil  would 
have  ruined  the  best  dresses  within  a  short  time.  Men  sometimes 
fastened  some  yards  of  calico  on  their  bodies,  ancl  trailed  it  behind 
them  when  not  engaged  in  hunting. 

The  skins  of  panther,  bear,  wild-cat,  raccoon  and  cow,  which  they 
had  in  their  lodges,  were  used  like  mats  to  sit  and  to  sleep  upon, 
but  did  not  serve  them  as  garments. 

ORNAMENTAL  ATTIRE. 

The  gentle  sex  is  generally  supposed  to  be  more  fond  of  orna¬ 
ments  of  dress  to  heighten  its  attractions,  than  are  the  males  ;  but 
among  the  Karankawas  just  the  opposite  was  observed.  Their  squat 
and  squalid  females  appear  to  have  disdained  ornaments,  but  the 
males  with  their  uncombed  though  braided  hair  and  unwashed  faces, 
loved  to  have  some  ornaments  dangling  about  their  bodies.  Their 
braids  consisted  of  three  strands  and  were  rather  long  ;  they  never 
knotted  the  hair  to  make  it  shorter,  but  sometimes  inserted  bright 
objects,  as  ribbons,  bits  of  colored  flannel,  etc.  The  women  never 
braided  their  coarse  hair  nor  combed  it,  although  some  combs  were 
seen  in  their  lodges.  The  men  generally  arranged  their  hair  with 
their  hands.  On  the  throat  (not  on  chest)  they  wore  small  shells, 
glass  beads,  fruits  of  the  pistachio  tree,  little  disks  of  tin,  brass  or 
other  metal.  Mother-of-pearl  was  not  utilized  for  the  purpose.  Rings 
were  worn  also,  when  obtainable.  They  manufactured  bracelets, 
one  inch  in  width,  of  deerskin  with  the  hair  left  upon  it  and  tied 
them  by  little  strings  fastened  on  each  end.  The  fact  that  both 
sexes  wore  them  on  the  left  wrist  only,  makes  it  plausible  that  they 
also  served  as  wrist  guards  to  hunters. 

The  custom  of  head  flattening,  considered  as  a  mark  of  bodily 
improvement  among  so  many  southern  tribes,  was  much  in  favor 
among  this  coast  people.  The  babies  of  both  sexes  had  to  undergo 
the  process,  and  their  foreheads  only  were  flattened.  A  piece  of 
cloth  was  first  applied,  then  a  thin  board,  then  a  cloth  inlaid  with 
moss  or  some  other  soft  substance  to  make  a  wad,  all  of  these  be- 

1 1  have  mentioned  an  instance  of  this  recorded  by  an  author  of  the  seventeenth 
century ;  cf.  p.  24. 


125 


62 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


ing  tied  around  the  head  with  a  bandage,  and  left  to  stay  there 
about  one  }rear,  day  and  night.  Even  after  twenty  years  the  effect 
of  this  proceeding  was  perceptible.1 

TATTOOING. 

More  conspicuous  than  head-flattening  are  the  tattooing  marks 
observed  upon  the  majority  of  the  tribes  who  walk  around  wholly 
or  partly  naked.  Many  Indian  communities  are  distinguished  by 
peculiar  tattoo-marks  which  they  claim  as  belonging  exclusively  to 
themselves.  Thus  the  Karankawas  had  the  face-marks  described 
by  my  informant  as  their  own,  and  they  must  have  made  a  strong 
impression  at  first  sight  if  not  on  the  Texan  Indians,  at  least  upon 
the  white  people.  These  lines  and  figures  were  all  of  blue  color, 
and  though  the  substance  used  is  unknown,  we  are  acquainted  with 
the  fact  that  black  substances,  as  soot,  charcoal,  burnt  plum  seeds, 
etc.,  become  blue  when  placed  subcutaneously.  Tattooing  was  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  face  only,  and  only  one  man  was  remembered,  about 
forty  years  old,  whose  chest  showed  tattoo-marks.  Boys  were  not 
tattooed  before  their  tenth  year,  and  young  women  marrying  into 
the  tribe  on  their  arrival  already  bore  the  same  style  of  tattooing, 
as  the  women  of  the  band  frequenting  the  inlets  of  Matagorda  bay. 

Body  painting  will  be  discussed  below. 

DWELLINGS. 

The  lodges  or  wigwams  of  these  migratory  people  were  far  from 
being  substantial,  as  they  could  be  erected  and  taken  down  again 
within  an  hour  or  two  by  the  women,  to  whom  this  manipulation  de¬ 
volved  in  this  and  the  majority  of  other  tribes.  Their  mode  of  con¬ 
struction  having  been  specified  in  the  two  articles  preceding  this, 

I  have  to  add  a  few  particulars  onty.  These  primitive,  tent  like 
huts' were  round,  or  intended  to  be  so,  and  were  called  ba-ak  ;  they 
contained  about  seven  or  eight  people  and  afforded  no  protection 
against  the  rain,  which  would  pour  through  the  roof  (Ity  courtesy 
so  called)  of  the  structure.  For  want  of  a  smoke-hole,  the  smoke 
had  to  escape  gradually  through  the  willow-sticks  or  anywhere  it 
could.  Very  tall  persons  had  to  bend  their  heads  in  coming  in,  and 

1  Head-flattening  prevails  not  only  upon  the  Pacific  coast  from  southern  Oregon  to 
54°  N.  Lat.,  but  also  in  Central  America  Palestine,  Asia  Minor,  etc.  In  the  last- 
named  country  the  Yu"ru"k  are  using  wet  bandages  for  the  purpose.  Cf.  von  Lnschan 
in  Berl.  Gesellsch.  F.rdk.,  1S88.  p.  53,  and  my  own  article  in  Migration  Legend  of  the 
Creek  Indians,  vol.  II,  pp.  53-55. 

126 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


63 


when  inside  would  touch  the  top.  There  were  no  seats  going  around 
the  lodge  walls  ;  all  the  property  of  these  people,  weapons  and  cook¬ 
ing  vessels,  were  lying  on  the  ground,  and  they  sat,  ate  and  slept 
on  their  fur-skins  on  the  lodge-floor,  using  them  as  mats. 

The  lodges  of  the  Tonkawe  (yetsu/an)  and  Comecrudos  (wamak) 
are  differently  constructed  ;  tliey  are  cane  or  willow-stick  lodges, 
flat  on  the  top,  open  on  one  or  two  sides  and  covered  with  brush¬ 
wood  and  sail-cloth,  old  blankets,  etc.,  on  the  top  and  the  closed- 
up  sides.  They  average  in  height  from  five  to  seven  feet.  The 
Tonkawe  term,  yetsu/an,  is  derived  from  tsu;r,  tso^,  cloth ,  textile 
fabric ,  also  what  is  interwoven  or  wattled ,  and  yetsu/an  therefore 
corresponds  best  to  our  word  brush-lodge. 

TRIBAL  GOVERNMENT. 

Passing  over  from  the  physical  to  the  mental  aspects  which  this 
Indian  people  presents  to  11s,  our  information  is  scanty  also,  but 
the  organization  existing  in  other  tribes  of  the  south  throws  some 
light  upon  the  subject. 

What  we  know  about  their  tribal  rulers  is,  that  they  were  ruled 
by  two  kinds  of  chiefs  :  they  had  chiefs  for  their  civil  government, 
whose  succession  was  hereditary  in  the  male  line,  and  war-chiefs, 
appointed  probably  by  the  civil  chiefs.  No  women  were  ever 
known  to  have  acted  as  chiefs. 

One  hundred  years  ago  their  territory  had  a  considerable  coasi*- 
front  and  must  have  harbored  a  large  population.  But  whether 
this  was  ever  united  into  one  confederacy,  like  that  of  the  Creeks 
or  Caddos,  is  doubtful,  for  we  have  no  reports  of  any  alliance  for  of¬ 
fensive  or  defensive  purposes  under  one  head  chief.  If  such  a  con¬ 
federacy  or  symmachy  ever  existed,  it  must  have  been  powerful 
and  wide-reaching.  It  is  more  probable  that  this  coast  people 
formed  a  disconnected  national  body  living  under  separate  chiefs, 
which  was  united  only  by  the  tie  of  a  common  language,  by  war- 
expeditions  undertaken  under  a  common  war  chief  and  perhaps  by 
phratries  and  gentes  having  the  same  names  throughout.  The 
Caddos  and  Tonkawe  have  the  gentile  system,  and  the  mention 
of  vendetta  or  blood-revenge  among  the  Karankawas  also  seems  to 
point  to  the  existence  of  a  system  of  totemic  gentes.1  After  mar- 

*As  I  have  pointed  out  previously,  Cabega  de  Vaca  states  that  individuals  of  the 
same  gens  always  went  together;  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  that  coast  tribe  seen  by 
him  was  of  Karankawa  affinity  or  not. 


127 


64 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OP 


rying,  the  Karankawa  often  took  tlieir  fathers-in-law  and  mothers- 
in-law  into  their  lodges  and  lived  with  them. 

MORAL  CHARACTER. 

It  is  certainly  a  difficult  task  to  sketch  the  moral'qualities  of  a 
nation,  cf  which  a  few  tribes  or  bands  only  were  known  to  the  white 
people,  and  under  circumstances  which  make  ns  doubt  the  veracity 
of  the  informants.  Indeed  who  would  be  inclined  to  believe  what 
what  one  man  says  about  another,  whom  he  is  constantly  trying 
rob  and  kill,  and  who  is  on  that  account  cruelly  punished  by  him 
from  time  to  time? 

In  the  earlier  epochs  they  were  filled  with  hatred  against  the 
Spaniards  on  account  of  their  cruelty  and  haughty  demeanor,  but 
were  not  hostile  to  the  French,  who  knew  how  to  treat  them  in  a 
friendly  manner.  But  their  warlike  qualities  and  anthropophagy 
always  made  them  an  object  of  terror  to  the  travellers  and  settlers 
of  the  white  race,  and  by  the  Anglo-Americans  the}'  were  regarded 
as  selfish,  mean,  cruel,  crafty  and  treacherous.  Ignorant  of  any 
rights  of  property  in  our  sense  of  the  word  they  showed  their  thiev¬ 
ish  inclination  by  purloining  food,  knives,  clothing  and  such  house¬ 
hold  articles  as  the}'  could  use  for  themselves  ;T  but  were  not  bur-' 
glars.  Their  lazy  habits  prompted  them  to  continual  begging  and 
rarely  were  they  willing  to  perform  the  slightest  labor,  no  matter 
what  reward  was  offered  to  them.  But  these  are  qualities  inher¬ 
ent  to  almost  every  savage  people.  Indolence  is  charged  even  to 
many  so-called  civilized  communities.  Why  should  a  primitive 
tribe,  which  had  always  lived  upon  the  liberal  gifts  of  nature,  sud¬ 
denly  change  their  habits  to  please  some  settlers  who  came  to  squat 
upon  their  domain  ? 

To  the  Texan  settler  who  came  to  these  coasts  from  civilized 
communities,  these  Indians  certainly  appeared  as  a  ferocious  type 
of  unmitigated  savagery,  untempered  by  the  milder  influence  of 
agriculture  which  has  exerted  such  a  civilizing  power  among  so 
many  of  the  northern  and  more  so  among  the  southern  tribes.  Mrs. 
Oliver  sketches  the  people  of  the  band  near  her  home  as  “surly 
in  their  aspect,  averse  to  conversation,  apparently  feeling  no  in¬ 
terest  in  anything  that  was  said  ;  they  spoke  to  each  other  and 
to  the  whites  in  guttural,  indifferent  tones  and  with  faces  averted.” 

’This  reminds  ns  of  what  Granville  Stuart  states,  in  his  “Montana  as  it  is”  (New- 
York,  ISfio),  of  the  Snake  Indians :  “They  are  not  real  thieves,  but  steal  just  enough  to 
keep  their  hands  in.” 

128 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


65 


They  sometimes  tried  to  deceive  her  in  giving  words  of  their  lan¬ 
guage,  and  most  of  these  in  her  list  were  obtained  from  women. 

A  “witty”  joke,  rather  characteristic  of  their  mode  of  thinking, 
was  perpetrated  by  a  young  man,  called  Kwash  or  “  Fire”  and  is 
related  by  her  as  follows  : 

Kwash  was  at  times  employed  by  her  father,  Mr.  Bridges,  to  do 
household  work,  and  at  one  time,  Mr.  Bridges,  wishing  to  treat 
his  northern  guest  to  some  genuine  prairie  venison,  sent  Kwash  out 
to  kill  a  deer.  In  due  time  Kwash  returned  apparently  unsuccessful. 
He  shook  his  head  mournfully  to  all  eager  inquiries,  and  wore  an 
air  of  extreme  disappointment.  Judge,  therefore,  of  the  effect  pro¬ 
duced  and  which  Kwash  keenly  enjoyed,  when  nearly  an  hour  later, 
after  having  eaten  his  dinner,  he  said  to  her  in  a  low  voice  :  “  ne 
bawus  kawa-i,  na-i  do-atn  ahuk,”  let  me  have  the  horse ,  I  have  hilled 
a  deer. 

When  judging  about  people,  their  wicked  qualities  leave  a  more 
ready  impression  upon  our  minds  than  the  good  ones  and  seem  to 
preponderate  over  these.  It  is,  therefore,  unjust  not  to  make  men¬ 
tion  of  the  latter  qualities  also.  When  coming  to  see  the  colonists, 
they  were  not  obtrusive,  but  rather  dignified  and  reserved,  and  when 
they  entered  their  houses  they  attentively  examined  the  pictures 
hanging  on  the  walls.  When  asked  to  work  for  money  they  were 
always  frank  enough  to  say  “  we  do  not  want  to  work  Karan- 
kawa  kom  ta  takina).  Gratefulness,  devotion  or  kindred  feelings 
could  certainly  not  be  expected  from  these  natives,  for  these  quali¬ 
ties  are  rare  enough  even  among  individuals  of  cultured  nations  ; 
hospitality’,  however,  is  found  among  almost  all  nations  of  the 
earth  and  may  not  have  been  wanting  altogether  even  upon  that  dis¬ 
tant  coast  of  the  4 4  Lone  Star  State.” 

Between  husbands  and  wives  no  sign  of  fondness  or  intimacy 
could  be  observed  and  they  rarely  spoke  to  each  other,  but  between 
parents  and  children  affection  was  sometimes  noticed,  especially 
on  the  mother’s  side.  The  women  were  not  examples  of  chastity  ; 
hence  but  few  children  were  born  and  our  informant  never  saw  over 
two  in  one  family.  Widows  remarried  as  soon  as  opportunity  of¬ 
fered  itself.  Children  were  not  often  visible  and  those  seen  were 
mostly  babies.  Adult  or  half-grown  girls  were  scarce  in  all  their 
bands. 

The  Karankawas  suffered  no  interference  of  outsiders  in  their 
marital  affairs  and  strongly  resented  any  attempt  at  such.  When 
p.  m.  papers,  i.  9  129 


66 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


a  band  made  its  temporary  stay  at  Port  Austin,  about  the  year 
1839,  one  of  the  wives  became  suspect  to  her  “  liege  lord”  as  to 
her  chastity.  He  seized  her  by  the  hair  and  pulled  her  over  the 
steep  bluff,  about  five  feet  high,  to  the  beach  of  the  lagoon  and 
beat  her  terribly.  Aroused  by  her  cries,  the  settlers  interfered, 
but  this  exasperated  the  Indians  to  such  a  degree  that  they  re¬ 
solved  to  revenge  themselves  by  a  night  attack.  They  had  a  cer¬ 
emonial  dance  called  “fandango,”  that  night,  as  it  was  then  full 
moon.  Chief  Antonio’s  wife,  who  was  of  Comanche  descent,  man¬ 
aged  to  notify  Mr.  Bridges’  family  of  the  intention,  and  the  colo¬ 
nists  remained  wakeful  after  the  lights  had  been  extinguished  and 
hid  themselves  in  the  lumber  piled  up  about  the  house.  After  a 
while  the  husband  of  that  woman  was  seen  sneaking  through  the 
high  grass  toward  the  house.  Several  travelling  men  then  stopped 
at  the  house,  all  of  whom  were  armed.  Captain  Bridges  advanced 
with  cocked  gun  towards  the  dusky  form  in  the  grass,  shouting : 
“What  are  you  doing  here?  If  you  disturb  us  once  more,  you  will 
all  be  killed  by  the  settlers  at  Matagorda  and  of  our  neighborhood  !” 
This  was  effective  and  the  man  withdrew  ;  the  inmates  of  the  house 
watched  all  night  long,  but  no  attack  was  made  and  the  next 
day  the  band  retired  to  a  distance  of  four  miles  near  other  settle¬ 
ments. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

The  information  we  can  present  upon  these  points  is  by  no  means 
exhaustive  ;  this  is  a  matter  of  regret,  as  the  Karankawa  certainly 
had  many  curious  customs  of  their  own,  like  all  the  other  aborigi¬ 
nes.  An  instance  of  this  is  the  ceremonial  weeping  referred  to  above. 

Among  their  games  and  pastimes  shooting  with  the  bow  was 
prominent.  They  often  shot  at  the  mark  or  shot  the  arrows  up  per¬ 
pendicularly  into  space,  and  their  shooting  matches  were  rather 
lively.  Arrows  shot  at  the  mark  and  sticking  in  it  were  sometimes 
split  in  two  the  long  way  by  another  Indian  shooting  at  the  notch  ; 
many  young  men  were  able  to  do  this  at  a  distance  of  eighty  feet 
at  least.  They  also  threw  hatchets  at  the  mark  with  wonderful 
precision,  and  rivals  often  engaged  in  brawls  or  fights  with  knives 
to  settle  their  “  rights.”  They  also  had  ball  plays  and  wrestling 
matches,  one  of  their  names,  Keles,  q.  v.,  being  derived  from  the 
latter  practice.  No  gambling  or  guessing  games  seem  to  have  ex¬ 
isted  among  these  people  at  that  time. 

130 


THE  KARANKAWA  INDIANS. 


67 


Tobacco  was  smoked  by  them  in  great  quantities  in  cigars  or 
cigarettes  made  with  maize  husks,  Mexican  fashion.1 

As  to  the  disposal  of  their  dead  it  is  not  definitely  known  which 
mode  they  followed.  Cremating  was  out  of  the  question,  since 
there  was  no  timber  or  bushes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Trespala- 
cios  bay,  and  no  place  of  sepulture  was  ever  known  to  exist  or  was 
alluded  to  by  these  Indians.  Neither  did  they  burn  the  lodges  in 
case  the  owners  died  ;  if  so,  the  white  colonists  would  have  heard 
of  it.  An  Indian,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  had  been  failing  in  health 
through  phthisis  and  became  too  weak  to  move  about.  His  tribe, 
•wishing  to  depart  for  another  shore,  concluded  to  leave  him  near 
Captain  Bridges’  house.  They  were  dissuaded  from  doing  this  and 
promised  to  take  him  away.  But  after  their  boats  had  left  the 
shore,  and  it  was  supposed  they  had  all  gone,  four  men  brought  the 
sick  man  back  in  a  blanket,  deposited  him  in  a  bush  near  the  house, 
then  ran  away.  The  colonists  made  a  provisional  tent  for  him  and 
his  son,  and  he  lived  two  weeks  longer.  Two  days  after  his  death 
his  brother  came  to  claim  the  boy  who  was  three  years  old  and  had 
been  given  to  Captain  Bridges  by  his  father. 

When  a  baby  died  belonging  to  the  chief,  it  was  certainly  not 
buried  there;  the  Indians  remained  quiet  in  their  lodges,  the  par¬ 
ents  were  much  afflicted  and  a  gloom  reigned  over  the  camp.  Two 
days  after  they  left  for  other  parts.  They  appeared  otherwise  en¬ 
tirety  indifferent  as  to  sacredness  of  feeling  or  particular  rites  in 
reference  to  losses  by  death. 

Further  information  on  their  customs  is  negative  only.  Upon 
inquiry  I  learned  that  probably  thej’  did  not  observe  what  is  called 
the  couvade,  kept  no  prisoners  of  war  as  slaves  and  did  not  manu¬ 
facture  any  mats  or  baskets,  but  made  coarse  pottery  and  knew 
how  to  dress  skins.  There  were  two  men  in  the  tribe  greatly  de¬ 
spised  by  the  others,  so  that  they  probably  knew  the  “peculiar  in¬ 
stitution”  of  hermaphrodites,  or  men  in  women’s  clothes.  Cabe^a 
de  Vaca  also  mentions  the  amarionados  seen  by  him.  The  south¬ 
ern  custom  of  scratching  the  knees  of  every  warrior  once  a  year 
did  not  exist  here.2  Fire-wood  and  other  loads  were  carried  upon 
the  shoulders,  or  on  the  back  by  means  of  a  strap. 

'The  various  modes  of  using  tobacco  among  the  Indians  of  the  West  Indies,  where 
this  practice  was  first  observed,  have  been  investigated  by  Dr.  A.  Ernst  of  Caracas, 
“On  the  etymology  of  the  word  tobacco,"  Amer.  Anthropologist  of  Washington,  vol. 
II,  1889,  pp.  133-142. 

2  The  Shetimashas  had  this  custom,  and  among  the  Cha’hta  coal  dust  was  rubbed 
into  the  bleeding  wounds  inflicted  upon  their  knees  once  every  year. 


131 


68 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OF 


MENTAL  ATTAINMENTS. 

Before  describing  wliat.  is  known  to  us  of  the  religious  and  tran¬ 
scendental  ideas  of  the  Texan  coast  people,  I  gather  under  the 
above  heading  a  few  disconnected  points  apt  to  illustrate  the  de¬ 
gree  of  mental  development  acquired  by  them. 

Although  the  women  were  not  manufacturers  of  mats  or  baskets, 
cooking  pots  with  rude  ornaments  were  seen  in  their  camps.  A 
block  of  wood  with  a  roughly-wrought  human  face  served  as  a  doll 
to  the  children  of  a  family  ;  who,  when  scarcely  two  years  old,  often 
ran  into  the  water  of  the  bay  up  to  their  necks. 

Besides  some  rude  attempts  at  wood-carving  a  beginning  of  the 
plastic  arts  could  be  seen  in  the  appliance  of  a  paint,  which  was 
either  red  or  black,  and  of  a  claj^  producing  a  black  color.  With 
these  they  painted  figures  of  animals  and  human  faces  upon  their 
skins  and  upon  pots  and  articles  of  wood.  These  paintings  were 
far  remote  from  any  artistic  finish  and  were  but  seldom  seen.  The 
dugouts  were  not  painted,  as  the  bark  remained  upon  the  outside. 
Their  tattooing  has  been  referred  to  already. 

The  musical  instruments  of  the  tribe  are  described  by  Mrs.  Oliver 
on  page  18. 

Of  their  mode  of  counting  the  numeral  series  would  give  us  some 
idea,  if  we  had  more  of  it  than  the  numbers  from  one  to  ten.  Like 
other  Indians  they  counted  upon  the  fingers,  commencing  at  the 
small  finger  and  ending  with  the  thumb.  Of  this  their  word  for 
five  is  conclusive  evidence,  for  nat'sa  behema  “one,  father means 
to  say  that  while  counting  on  the  one  or  first  (na'tsa)  hand  they  had 
arrived  at  the  biggest  or  thickest  finger,  which  in  some  languages  is 
symbolized  by  “father,  mother,  or  old.”  The  haikia,  two ,  com¬ 
posing  the  numerals  from  six  to  nine,  show  that  they  then  counted 
the  fingers  of  the  second  hand.  To  say  twenty,  thirty ,  etc.,  they  held 
up  both  hands  twice  or  three  times. 

Other  material  helps  were  used  whenever  computations  had  to  be 
made  extending  over  days  or  weeks,  or  reaching  high  figures.  Most 
Indians  use  sticks  from  one  to  three  inches  in  length  when  days 
have  to  be  counted  from  a  certain  period,  and  after  this  period  throw 
away  one  stick  every  day.  To  count  loads  a  young  Karankawa 
used  the  following  expedient.  Captain  Bridges,  wishing  to  con¬ 
struct  a  road  of  sea-shells,  ordered  him  to  count  the  necessary  quan¬ 
tity  of  shells  taken  in  a  wheelbarrow  to  the  places  designed  ;  he 
132 


THE  KAKANKAWA  INDIANS. 


69 


then  had  to  be  absent  for  a  while,  and  the  young  Indian  kept  the 
record  of  his  wheelbarrow  loads  by  placing  for  each  one  a  stone  in  a 
row,  sometimes  three,  sometimes  four  in  a  day,  and  by  beginning 
a  new  row  for  every  day  he  worked. 

One  of  the  medical  or  conjuring  practices  of  these  Indians  was 
to  suck  the  disease  from  the  patient’s  body,  and  welts  could  often  be 
seen  on  their  skin.  From  this  we  may  judge  that  their  conjuring 
did  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  other  Indians.  They  often 
called  on  Captain  Bridges  for  his  medicines  and  so  they  must  have 
been,  in  critical  cases,  distrustful  of  their  own  conjurers. 

Tiie  Karankawas  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  communicate 
their  Indian  names  to  the  white  people  and  thus  Mrs.  Oliver  learnt 
of  one  only,  Kwash  or  Fire.  But  everyone  had  an  English  or  Span¬ 
ish  name  and  many  men  went  by  the  burlesque  military  and  other 
epithets  in  use  among  Americans,  as  “Captain,”  “Major,”  “Colo¬ 
nel,”  etc.,  these  being  placed  before  their  assumed  baptismal  names. 
The  latter  they  changed  frequently,  thus  Captain  Jim,  e.  g.,  might 
be  known  in  a  few  weeks  under  the  new  name  of  Captain  Jack.  This 
reluctance  of  acquainting  people  outside  of  their  tribe  with  their 
Indian  names  is  frequent  among  Pacific  and  southwestern  Indians 
and  I  found  it  to  exist  among  the  Tonkawe  Indians,  then  at  Fort 
Griffin,  on  the  clear  fork  of  Brazos  river,  northwestern  Texas.  The 
Tonkawe  will  give  to  their  children  Comanche  and  English  names 
besides  those  from  their  own  language,  which  they  are  unwilling  to 
communicate  to  others.  And  why  ?  they  believe  that  when  some¬ 
body  calls  an  individual  by  his  or  her  name  after  death,  the  spirit 
of  the  deceased  may  hear  it  and  be  prompted  to  take  revenge  upon 
those  who  disturbed  his  rest;  but  if  called  in  another  language  this 
would  have  no  effect  upon  the  spirit.  Thus  after  having  stepped 
into  Hades’  domain,  an  Indian  seems  to  remember  his  own  language 
only. 

The  Karankawa  Indians  possessed  a  gesture  language  for  con¬ 
versing  with  alien  Indians  by  motions  of  the  hands  or  body.  Mrs. 
Oliver  remembered  one  gesture  of  it,  to  express  “ nothing ,”  which 
is  approximately  the  same  as  performed  by  other  Indians  for  the 
same  idea.  It  consisted  in  stretching  both  arms  forward  horizon¬ 
tally  with  fingers  extended,  and  then  making  the  hands  or  arms 
diverge  suddenly.  The  Akonkisa  or  Acconcesaws  on  lower  Trin¬ 
ity  river,  Texas,  had  a  “dumb”  or  sign  language  of  the  same  de¬ 
scription  ;  cf.  Dr.  Sibley’s  “Message  to  the  President,”  1805. 


133 


70 


ETHNOGRAPHIC  SKETCH  OP 


For  signalling  to  a  distance  they  had  several  methods.  They 
called  each  other’s  attention  hy  a  whistle,  which  was  much  shriller 
than  ours.  On  clear  days,  generally  at  noon,  they  signalled  news 
by  columns  of  smoke  from  their  camp  fires,  which  were  started  from 
small  pits  in  the  ground,  every  Indian  having  a  fire  in  front  of  his 
lodge.  The  column  of  smoke  was  made  to  ascend  in  more  than 
twenty  different  ways,  sometimes  diverging  or  curling  up  in  spirals, 
sometimes  rising  up  in  parallel  lines.  The  shape  of  these  smoke 
signals  was  as  intelligible  to  their  distant  friends  as  spoken  lan¬ 
guage,  and  the  messages  thus  conveyed  appeared  to  determine  their 
movements.  Some  of  these  looked  like  the  letters  V  and  Y,  others 
resembled  spiral  lines,  or  two  parallel  zigzag  lines  moving  upward, 
or  twin  columns  standing  close  to  each  other.  How  these  columns 
could  be  made  to  go  up  in  the  directions  intended  for  them  was 
not  known  to  the  informant,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  numerous 
prairie  and  camp  fires  burning  at  night  at  all  points  of  the  horizon 
were  used  by  them  as  signals  also.  It  is  especially  incomprehen¬ 
sible,  how  smoke  could  be  made  to  diverge  laterally  in  the  manner 
seen  by  our  informant. 


RELIGION. 

Of  the  religious  ideas  prevailing  among  the  Karankawas  noth¬ 
ing  is  known  except  what  Mrs.  Oliver  has  communicated  in  giving 
a  sketch  of  their  “fandango,”  which  evidently  was  a  misnomer  for 
a  religious  ceremony  and  took  place  when  the  moon  was  full.  They 
also  celebrated  it  after  very  successful  hunts  or  fishing  expeditions 
resulting  in  a  bountiful  catch.  The  use  of  the  black  drink  decoc¬ 
tion  of  the  yaupon-leaves1  ( Ilex  cassine )  was  frequent  among  In¬ 
dians  of  the  gulf  coast  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi  and  is  also 
mentioned  in  Texas  by  Cabe<ja  de  Vaca.  The  Creek  Indians  pre¬ 
pared  it  in  three  different  ways  and  one  of  these  they  adopted  when 
the  beverage  had  to  serve  for  convivial  purposes.2 

It  was  a  religious  act  of  theirs,  when  they  sent  the  smoke  of 
tobacco  through  their  nostrils  first  to  the  north,  then  to  the  east, 
west  and  south  in  an  apparently  unconcerned  and  careless  manner. 

•Pronounced  yupdn  oryapon  in  Texas.  The  Texans  find  it  in  the  woods,  not  on  the 
coast-line  and  drink  a  tea  or  decoction  of  it  with  sugar  and  milk.  The  white  people 
east  of  Mississippi  river  do  the  same. 

-Compare  my  -‘Migration  Legend  of  the  Creek  Indians,”  vol.  II,  56-59,  where  I  have 
adduced  historic  evidence  upon  the  use  of  the  “Black  Drink.” 

134 


THE  KAEANKAWA  INDIANS. 


71 


Their  staring  at  the  sun,  when  it  disappeared  into  the  sea,  has  been 
observed  with  other  Indians  as  well.1 

The  Karankawa  were  frequently  heard  to  whistle,  but  at  certain 
times  only  and  with  some  apparent  object.  Thus  we  do  not  know 
whether  this  was  founded  on  some  superstition  or  not.  The  tribe 
or  tribes  frequenting  Matagorda  bay  had  never  been  visited  by 
any  missionary,  as  far  as  my  informant  could  remember,  and  of 
their  legends  and  historic  traditions  nothing  whatever  is  known, 
except  that  they  formerly  had  lively  contests  with  some  of  the 
neighboring  tribes,  the  Bidai  and  the  Tonkawe.  Of  former  migra¬ 
tions  of  their  own  people  they  were  entirely  unconscious. 

VThe  ancient  Creeks  regarded  it  as  a  divine  favor  when  they  could  travel  at  least 
once  during  their  lives  to  the  bay  of  Mobile  to  see  the  sun  disappearing  in  its  waters. 


VI.  THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


It  has  been  for  a  long  time  a  desideratum  to  ethnologists  to  ob¬ 
tain  reliable  information  upon  this  coast  language,  which  could 
furnish  a  clew  to  the  origin  and  racial  affinities  of  the  nation. 
This  desire  has  now  been  gratified,  though  in  a  modest  degree  only, 
and  I  intend  to  present  the  scanty  linguistic  information  now  on 
hand  under  three  headings  : 

1.  The  vocabularies. 

2.  The  grammatic  elements  of  the  language. 

3.  Affinities  of  Karankawa  with  other  languages. 


1.  KARANKAWA  VOCABULARIES. 

A.  Vocabulary  obtained  from  Alice  W.  Oliver. 

a  and;  gai  a  demoa  na-i  (this  is)  my  bow  and  arroivs  (putting 
their  hands  upon  them)  ;  gai  a  demoa  awa  (this  is)  your  bow 
and  arrows. 

aguiya  needle;  from  Spanish  aguja. 

aha'mmish  hush!  don't  cry  !  (as  said  to  children)  ;  aha'mmish  sni'n  ! 
get  away !  scat !  (as  said  to  dogs  and  cats  ;  with  sharp  accent) . 

ahayika/nend.  The  Spanish  amigo  was  more  used  among  them. 
When  wanting  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  whites,  they 
preferred  the  term  amigo  and  said  :  mucho  amigo!  kom  aha- 
yika  hostile ,  enemy ;  the  Karankawas  called  so  several  of 
the  tribes  around  them. 

aliuk,  ahok  to  kill ,  sing,  and  pi.  of  object;  na-i  ye  do-atn  ahok 
m’sus  I  am  starting  soon  to  kill  deer. 

aknamas,  aknamus  to  eat;  kom  aknamus?roi  eatable ,  or  do  not  eat. 

aksol  to  whistle. 


137 


74 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


akweten  to  drink. 

akwini  tree;  na-i  amoak  akwini  I  fell  from  the  tree. 
am  fish;  aquatic  animal ,  see  tchuta. 

amel,  emphatic  ame-el  hungry,  cf.  mal ;  na-i  amel,  ta  kwiamoya 
aknamus  I  am  hungry ,  I  want  to  eat  bread. 
amhatn  flour ;  ya  amhatn  corn  flour ,  meal  of  maize. 
amoak  to  fall ;  ka'da  amoak,  ka'da  owi'ya  the  girl  fell  and  wept. 
anawan,  a'nawa  smoke  (?) 

askahak  now ,  presently ;  kalba  mushawata  taldna  ;  askahak  kwa-al, 
taim  the  chief  has  worked  continuously ;  now  he  is  tired  (and) 
wants  to  sleep. 

atcliata !  good  bye  !  farewell ! 
aud  snake ,  serpent. 

awa  (1)  thou ,  you;  pron.  pers.  of  second  pers.  singular,  also  for 
dir.  and  indir.  object :  na-i  awa  bawus  I  give  you.  Captain 
Jim  awa  kosata  Capt.  Jim  made  it  for  you.  (2)  thy ,  thine, 
yours ;  awa  kanxnma  thy  mother. 
awfi'n  (1)  dugout,  canoe;  (2)  boat ,  vessel,  ship. 
ba,  ba',  be  wind;  wol  ba  strong  wind. 

ba-ak  (1)  Indian  lodge,  cabin,  willow-lodge,  hut,  wigwam;  gas  ba- 
ak  to  return  home;  (2)  Indian  camp ;  (3)  house,  building. 
bakta  day;  bakta  budaina  wal  day  long  past. 

bawus  to  give ;  ni  bawxis  tesnakvvaya  give  me  milk;  na-i  awa  kwia¬ 
moya  bawus  I  give  you  bread. 
behema,  behema,  be’kma  father.  Also  occurs  in  numerals, 
budama  gone;  budaina  wal  long  past,  said  of  time;  kalba  bu- 
dama,  gas  messus  ba-ak  the  chief  has  gone ,  he  will  return  home 
soon. 

bxidel  barrel;  from  Span,  baril. 
da'  oyster. 
dahome  egg. 

dan  to  push;  glos’n  ka'da  dan  the  boy  pushed  the  girl. 

de  tobacco. 

demoa  arrow. 

do-atn,  do-etn,  do'tn  deer. 

do-atn  ;  this  term  occurs  in  the  numerals :  kaikia  do-atn  nine; 

do-atn  kabe  ten. 
do  owal  sun. 

e  tooth;  e  tesselenia  tooth-brush. 
era  to  jump,  skip. 

138 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


75 


enno  to  suck. 
etsma  hand,  finger. 
ga',  ga’h  moskito. 

ga-an,  ka-an  to  strike  with  hand,  club,  etc. 
ga-i,  gai  bow. 

gata  domestic  cat ;  from  Spanish  gato ;  gata  kwan  kitten. 
glo-essen,  gios’n  boy ;  gas,  gios’n  come,  boy!  a  mother  said  to  her 
son  five  years  old  ;  na-i  gios’n  kwatso  my  boy  is  sick. 
glle-i,  gle-i  (1)  water  and  any  liquid;  teskaus  gile-i  molasses ;  (2) 
sea ,  ocean,  open  waters. 
gusgama  shirt;  cf.  kvviss. 
gwa,  kwa  to  read. 
babe ;  occurs  in  do-atn  babe  ten. 

haikia  two ;  composes  the  numerals  :  hayo  liaikia  six;  haikia  na'tsa 
seven;  haikia  behema  eight;  haikia  do-atn  nine. 
haitn  to  catch,  capture;  na-i  kota  kuwai  liaitn  I  ran  to  catch  the 
horse;  na-i  behema  haitn  (go  and)  catch  up  with  my  father! 
haitnlokn,  a  turtle  species,  called  the  large  green  turtle,  frequently 
found  in  Matagorda  Bay,  up  to  three  and  one-half  feet  long : 
Chelonia  my  das. 

hayo  haikia  six;  seems  to  stand  for  kayayi  haikia,  abbrev.  hayi 
haikia  three  times  two;  hayo  liakn  four. 
hakes  to  sit;  ka'da  hakes  ba-ak  the  girl  sits  in  the  house. 
lialba  chief. 

hamala  pretty,  handsome;  tal  £kwini  kam&Ia  this  tree  is  pretty. 
ihie-a,  hie-e,  hi-ia,  hie-a,  ie-e  yes! 
im  to  sleep ;  t<4  im  he  ivants  to  sleep. 

ya-an  great ,  large,  tall,  wide;  the  opposite  of  kwa'n,  q.  v. 
y km  potato;  not  the  batate  or  “  sweet  potato.” 
y& m awe  man. 

ye  to  go,  to  walk,  reduplicated  3’eye  ;  n&-i  ye  medd-u  odn  I  am  going 
to  shoot  ducks ;  nfi-i  ye  do'tn  ahok  I  am  going  to  kill  deer ;  na-i 
ye  wol  I  walked  considerably . 
yetso  to  stand. 
yo'ta  music. 

ka  to  love,  cherish;  nd-i  dwa  ka  Hove  you. 

ka'da  girl;  mothers  addressed  their  daughters  by  this  term :  gas, 
ka'da  !  come,  girl ! 

k&dla  calico;  kvviss  k&dla,  see  kwiss. 


139 


76 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


kdhawan,  kd-awan  (1)  to  make ,  produce ,  manufacture,  as  bread,  ar¬ 
ticles  of  wood,  etc.  ;  nd-i  demoa  kdhawan  I  make  arrows ; 
(2)  to  grow,  said  of  animals  and  plants  ;  kwdnakwan  in  the 
reduplicated  or  iterative  form;  kwd-an  young ;  lit.  “grow¬ 
ing  kwdnnakwan  akwini?  do  they  grow  on  a  tree,  on  trees ? 
kaita,  katd  to  laugh ;  dwa  kata  ;  kaupn  !  you  laugh!  tell  (why)  1 
ka^dyi  three. 

kanin,  kenin  breast ;  female  hr east,  teat ;  kanlnma,  keninma  mother; 

nd-i  keninma  my  mother. 
kassidshuwakn  to  hurt,  injure,  cause  pain. 

kdssig  to  pound,  as  maize,  etc.,  is  pounded  by  means  of  a  stone, 
kaupn  to  tell,  to  say  to,  to  talk,  converse;  kaupn  nd-i  behema  gds 
bd-ak  tell  my  father  to  return  home;  nd-i  kaninma  behema  td 
kaupn  my  mother  wants  to  speak  to  the  father. 
kedo'd,  keda'd  crane. 
kekeya  foot,  feet. 
kiss  dog. 

klabdn  well,  healthy,  in  good  health;  dwa  kaninma  klabdn?  is  your 
mother  ivell  ? 

kom,  ko'm, kum  (1)  no!  (2)  not;  kom  ahdyika,  see  ahdyika;  kom 
akndmus,  etc. 

kosdta  to  perform,  do,  to  make;  nd-i  kwdtchi  kosdta  messus  I  shall 
soon  build  afire. 

kota,  kotd  to  hasten ,  to  hurry ;  nd-i  kotd  bd-ak  I  am  hurrying  home. 
kudn,  kudu,  kutn  bird;  kutne  wolya  (1)  prairie  chicken ;  (2)  chicken, 
lien. 

kumna  to  knoiv,  to  understand ;  kumna?  do  you  understand ? 
ku'nmil  gunpowder. 

kuwdyi,  kuwai  horse;  from  the  Spanish  cabcdlo. 
kwd-al,  kwa'l  tired,  exhausted;  dwa  kwd-al !  hdkes !  you  are  tired! 
sit  clown! 

kwa'n  and  kwdnakwan  to  grow;  see  kdhawan  (2). 
kwa'n,  kwdn  (1)  little,  small;  (2)  young  of  animal,  child,  babe; 
gdta  kwa'n  kitten. 

kwass,  kwas  to  know ;  more  frequently  used  than  kumna.  Na-i  kum 
kwds  I  do  not  know;  dwa  nd-i  kwdss?  do  you  knoiv  me? 
kwdtchi  (\)  fire ;  (2)  nom.  prop,  masc.,  “  Fire.” 
kwdtcho,  kwdtsu  sick;  cf.  kwdtchijftre,  fever-heat  being  often  com¬ 
pared  to  fire;  and  kwd-al.  A'wa  kwdtsu?  are  you  sick? 


140 


V 


THE  KARAKKAWA  LANGUAGE.  77 

kwidm  maize,  Indian  corn;  kwiamoya  bread;  glos’n  akwdmus 
kwiamoya  the  boy  is  eating  bread. 

kwiss  (1)  any  cloth,  textile  fabric;  abbr.  to  gus  in  gusgdma,  q.  v. ; 

kwiss  kddla  calico  dress,  gown,  woman’s  dress. 
ld-ak  goose. 

Id-akum  round;  globiform,  circular  and  disk-shaped, 
labd-i  whiskey. 

Idharna,  ld’hhama  heart. 
m ado n  a  pig. 
mdl  dead. 

matdkia  to  hate ;  nd-i  dwa  matdkia  I  hate  you  (said  once  by  a 
Karankawa  child  to  a  bench  when  falling  over  it), 
matchita  hatchet ;  from  Spanish  machete. 
mawida-  to  marry ;  from  Spanish  marido. 

medd  u,  medau,  meddw  ccinvcis-bach  duck;  prob.  generic  for  cluck. 
messus,  mesus,  m’sus  by  and  by,  after  a  while ,  soon,  at  present. 
mudd?  where  ?  kiss  mudd?  where  (is)  the  dog ?  dwan  mudd?  where 
is  the  boat? 

niushawdta  for  a  long  while,  all  the  time,  always. 
mutd  dear,  affectionate. 

ndyi,  nd-ayi,  nd-i,  nd-i  ( 1 ),  I,  pron.  pers.  first  pers.  singular,  abbrev. 
into  n’ ;  n’  tche  dwa  I  see  you.  Also  for  obj.  case  :  dwa  nd-i 
kwdss?  do  you  know  me?  abbr.  ne  :  ne  bdwus  kwdtchi  give  me 
fire;  (2)  my,  mine:  ndi  be’hma  my  father;  nd-i  gai  my  bow; 
nd-i  glo’sn  my  boy. 

na'tsa  one;  na'tsa  behema^/fye,  haikia  na'tsa  seven. 
notawa  to  swim;  dm,  kiss  notawa  the  fish,  the  dog  is  swimming. 
nyd,  nid  there,  yonder;  kiss  nia  the  dog  (is)  there;  wdl  nia  far 
off;  nd-i  awdn  tcha  nyd  I  see  a  boat  over  there. 
odn,  u'dn  to  shoot ;  odn  demoa  to  shoot  arrows;  dwa  odn  m’sus  you 
shoot  now  !  in  the  sense  of  “  you  may  shoot  presently.” 
o's,  oss  bear ;  from  Spanish  oso. 
owiya  to  iveep. 
pdl  black.  ( ?) 

pld  good,  nice,  fine,  useful;  in  the  concrete  as  well  as  in  the  abstract 
and  moral  sense  ;  the  opposite  of  tchuta.  Mado'na  akndmus 
pld  a  pig  is  good  to  eat. 
silekdyi  knife. 
sni'n  ;  see  alia'mmish. 


141 


78 


THE  KARASKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


td  to  want ,  wish,  desire;  gas!  nd-i  dwa  ta  come!  I  want  you; 
kora  ta  taldna  he  does  not  want  to  work;  glos’n  etp  ta  wol  the 
hoy  wants  to  jump  to  a  distance ;  also  signifies  ‘‘the  boy  can 
jump  far  out”  ;  glos’n  td  teskaus-glle-i  the  hoy  wants  molasses  ; 
nd-i  td  lidkes  I  want  to  sit  down.  Also  used  as  auxiliary  verb 
for  the  future  tense. 

tdliama  (1)  tobreak,  as  china,  sticks,  arrows,  etc.  ;(2)  to  tear,  as  cloth, 
taldna  to  ivork. 

tdl,  tdll,  pron.  dem.,  this,  that;  he,  she,  it. 
tamoyika  red. 

tenno  too,  also,  and ;  nd-i  tenno  Walupe  land  Guadelupe;  glos’n 
akndmus  tenno  the  boy  eats  (of  it)  also. 
teskaus  szveet;  sugar;  teskaus  glle-i  molasses;  nd-i  akndmus 
kwiamoyi  teskaus-glle-i  I  am  eating  bread  with  molasses. 
tesnakwdya  milk. 
tesselenia,  teselenya  brush;  cf.  e. 

tets’oa,  tetsoa  beef,  cow,  cattle,  beef-meat;  Col.  Robinson  tetsoa 
aliuk  Col.  Robinson  has  killed  a  cow.  The  meat  had  to  be 
specified  by  giving  the  name  of  the  animal, 
tolos,  tolus  to  run;  to  run  fast;  ne  bdwus  kwdtchi !  tolus,  tolus  ! 
give  me  fire!  run,  run! 

tuwdmka  yesterday ;  also  referring  to  past  time  in  general, 
tchd  (1)  to  see ,  behold;  n’  tchd  dwa  I  see  you;  nd-i  dwan  tchd 
I  see,  perceive  a  boat;  (2)  m’  tchd  dwa?  how  do  you  do?  lit. 
“  how  do  you  find  jTourself?” 

tchdpn  to  be  on  the  point  of;  n’tchdpn  ...  I  am  going  to  .  .  ; 
n’tchdpn  dwa  o'dn  I  ivill  shoot  you.  Etymologically  con¬ 
nected  with  tchd  to  see. 

tchautawal  to  touch  something ;  wal  perhaps  a  separate  word, 
tso'l  blue. 

tchuta  bad,  obnoxious,  ivickecl ,  dangerous;  din  tchutd  octopus 
“  dangerous  fish  koni  akndmus  tdl  dm  ;  tchuta  this  fi*h 
is  not  eaten;  (it  is)  bad. 
wi-asn  rain. 

wol,  woll,  wdl  (1)  strong,  powerful;  wol  bd;  see  bd ;  (2)  much, 
a  great  deal  of ,  plenty  of;  wa'l  glle-i  much  ivater ;  era  wol  to 
jump  to  a  (great)  distance,  to  take  a  long  leap;  wdl  nia  far 
off,  “way  yonder  ;”nd-i  ye  wol  1  walked  a  good  deal ;  cf.  bdkta. 
wolya,  see  kudu. 

wu-ak  to  lie  dozen;  nd-i  be’hma  wuak,  td  im  my  father  laydown  to  sleep. 
142 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


79 


B.  Vocabularies  obtained  from  Old  Simon  and  Sallie  Washington. 

The  following  short  series  of  Karankawa  terms  I  have  obtained 
from  two  old  persons,  whom  I  met  among  the  Tonkawe  tribe  of  In¬ 
dians  in  September,  1884,  who  then  stayed  in  northwestern  Texas, 
near  Fort  Griffin,  in  Shackleford  county.  Both  claimed  to  have 
lived  when  they  were  young  for  a  considerable  time  among  the  Kar- 
ankawas  on  the  coast. 

One  of  them  was  called  Old  Simon;  he  was  not  less  than  sev¬ 
enty-five  years  old  and  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  obtain  any  re¬ 
liable  information  from  him  on  account  of  an  extreme  debility  of 
body  and  memory.  He  called  the  tribe  Karamkawa  or  Keles,  Kilis, 
wrestlers ,  and  saw  twenty  lodges  of  theirs  about  or  after  the  year 
1835,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  would  place  this 
portion  of  the  tribe  much  farther  south  than  we  knew  them  to  live 
at  that  epoch.  They  wore  no  moccasins  and  had  a  powerful  phys¬ 
ique.  Near  the  coast  he  had  also  seen  three  other  tribes  walking 
barefooted  :  the  Minai  (or  Bidai)  in  twenty-five  lodges  ;  the  Carri- 
zos  in  five  lodges  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the 
Kharimame,  Khaimame  or  Hanama  in  ten  lodges.  The  Bidai  were 
then  southeast  of  Austin,  the  capital,  and  the  third  tribe  must  have 
been  the  Xaranames,  mentioned  in  some  Mexican  documents. 

The  following  words  were  all  he  remembered : 
awatch/ol  grass, 
ev/ecome!  come  here! 

ga/iametet  upa't  long  ago  1  spolce  (the  language). 
h6kso  alligator. 
humhe  fire. 

kahe  tobacco ;  ka  swenas  cigarette. 

kolame  frying  pan,  tin  bucket  (Aztec  comalli  ?) 

kwa  ma  black  horse. 

kwan  peka  white  horse. 

kwo-om,  kwom  no. 

^anlri,  niktarn  !  come  quick ,  boy  ! 
nape-nai  patsim  I  speak ,  tell ,  converse. 
nape-nai  na/erua/a  para  I  am  very  angry. 

Tchankaya  Tonkawe  Indian. 
tikemai  beef. 

upat  (emphatically  :  upa-a-at)  long  ago. 
ushi  niktarn  a  little  man ,  a  youngster. 


143 


80 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


My  other  informant  was  a  blind  old  woman,  not  much  j-ounger 
than  Old  Simon  ;  she  was  called  Scillie  Washington ,  on  account 
of  having  once  been  with  a  delegation  of  Texan  Indians  to  the  cap¬ 
ital,  brought  there  by  Sam  Houston.  She  had  once  lived  with  a 
man  of  the  Karankawa  tribe  for  a  considerable  time,  as  reported. 
The  words  which  she  remembered  confirm  some  of  Old  Simon’s 
statements. 

ewe-e  !  come !  come  quiclc  1 

haka  !  sit  down !  tchakwame  !  sit  down  here ! 

ka-as  wana  !  come  here ! 

/ankeye  to  run,  hurry ,  hasten. 
tapshewa  hog. 

wana  !  go  aiucty !  or  let  us  go  ! 

Both  lists  were  incorporated  into  the  collection  of  manuscripts  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  and  subsequent^  published  in  the  “Glo¬ 
bus”  of  Braunschweig,  1886,  Vol.  49,  pp.  124,  125. 

The  small  extent  of  these  two  lists  renders  any  comparisons  dif¬ 
ficult  and  they  probably  represent  another  more  western  dialect  of 
Karankawa  than  the  one  Mrs.  Oliver  was  familiar  with.  Many 
words  agree  pretty  well  with  her  list.  These  two  Tonkawe  In¬ 
dians  once  had  tattoo  lines  along  their  noses,  as  I  was  informed, 
and  although  all  traces  of  these  had  disappeared  when  I  saw  them, 
there  is  nothing  impossible  in  this.  The  Ivarankawas  were  said  to 
have  had  the  same  lines,  and  the  Mexican  tribes  around  the  Panuco 
river  had  them  also.  I  read  the  terms  of  these  two  lists  to  Mrs. 
Oliver,  but  she  could  not  remember  having  heard  any  of  them. 

The  proof  that  the  words  furnished  by  Old  Simon  and  Sallie 
Washington  really  belong  to  the  same  linguistic  stock  as  the 
dialect  obtained  from  Mrs.  Oliver,  and  that  if  the  one  is  accepted 
as  being  Karankawa,  the  other  must  be  considered  Karankawa  also, 
is  furnished  by  the  following  coincidences  : 
kwa  horse:  kawayo,  kuwai. 
kwo-om  not ,  no:  ko'm,  kom,  kum. 
nai  I ,  in  nape-nai :  nayi,  na-i. 

haka  sit  down  (is  also  contained  in  tch-aft-wame) ,  hakes  to  sit 
down. 

ka-as  come!  ga’hs,  ga’s,  to  come. 

In  the  following  linguistic  comparisons  and  the  grammatic  sketch 
only  incidental  use  will  be  made  of  these  two  little  word- lists,  by 
using  the  sign  S. 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


81 


Mrs.  Oliver  also  remembered  a  song  worded  in  that  language 
and  heard  from  a  woman  of  the  tribe,  who  uttered  it  in  an  ex¬ 
tremely  monotonous  strain,  two  lines  at  one  breath,  without  any 
rise  or  fall  in  the  intonation.  It  runs  as  follows  : 

Natsa  kwan  kodn  hakus  akwinf 

tal  dksol,  tal  aksol,'  tal  aksol,  11a  tclia; 
n&tsa  kwan  glo-esn  gas,  ga-i  demo'-u, 

“n’  tchapn  odn  awa,  hamala  kwan  kodn !” 

The  translation  runs  as  follows  : 

One  little  bird  sits  on  a  tree, 
he  whistles,  he  whistles,  he  whistles,  I  see; 

One  little  boy  comes  with  bow  and  arrow, 

“I  will  shoot  you,  pretty  little  sparrow !” 

When  I  made  the  remark,  that  the  use  here  made  of  natsa  as  an 
indefinite  article,  of  tal  for  7ie,  and  of  na’  tcha  I  see ,  was  and  could 
not  be  aboriginal,  she  said  that  I  was  right,  and  that  the  song 
seemed  to  be  nothing  but  a  translation  of  a  well-known  American 
cradle-song  of  the  English  language;  that  woman,  Lettie,  knew 
more  English  than  other  squaws,  and  also  showed  herself  more 
affectionate  to  her  children.  The  original  song  probably  was  as 
follows  : 

Little  cock-sparrow  sat  up  in  a  tree, 
he  whistles,  he  whistles  and  thus  whistles  he ; 

a  little  boy  came  with  his  bow  and  his  arrow, 
and  said  :  “I  will  shoot  you,  poor  little  cock-sparrow!” 

A  fragment  of  another  cradle-song  was  also  remembered,  of 
which  the  two  first  lines  were  the  following  : 

aha'mish  glos’n,  kom  owfya, 
awa  bShema  gas  messus. 

Of  this  the  original  appears  to  be  : 

Rockaby  baby  bunting,  your  father’s  gone  a  hunting; 
mother’s  gone  to  get  the  skin,  to  wrap  the  baby  bunting  in. 

Some  more  linguistic  material  besides  the  above  is  preserved  in 
the  place  and  river  names  of  these  coast  tracts,  though  b}^  their  very 
nature  these  names  can  be  of  little  use  to  us.  Those  that  could 
possibly  belong  to  the  Karankawa  language,  are  Kopano  (a  long), 
Aranzaso  or  Aransas,  Manawlilla  Creek,  Anaqua  town  with  Ana- 
cuas  River  and  Rancho  Anaquitas,  Cameron  Co.,  Ecleto  Creek, 
an  affluent  of  San  Antonio  River  in  Karnes  County.  Two  of  these 
p.  M.  papers,  i.  10. 


145 


82 


THE  XC ARAKKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


could  possibly  be  reduced  to  Tonkawe,  but  not  3ret  to  Karankawa 
words :  Kopano  upon  Kopano  Bay,  a  large  side  inlet  of  Aransas 
Bay,  resembles  T.  kopol  liolloio,  concave,  round ;  kopan,  the  interior, 
inside  of,  especially  of  the  animal  body ;  T.  kopanek  ka/a-u  ye- 
ikevva,  bile,  gall,  “  what  becomes  black  in  the  entrails.”  Anaqua 
town,  Victoria  Co.,  on  San  Antonio  R.,  and  Anacuas  River,  afflu¬ 
ent  of  San  Gertrude’s  Creek,  Nueces  Co.,  may  contain  T.  ana^ok, 
many  (lodges,  or  Indians). 

Several  Indian  names  thereabouts  belong  to  the  Nahuatl  lan¬ 
guage  and  were  imported  there  with  several  dialectic  terms  still 
heard  in  the  Texan-English  and  Texan-Spanish,  bjr  the  Tlascaltec 
Indians  settled  there  for  protecting  the  newly  established  missions. 
Thus  we  have  Papalote  town  and  creek  in  Bee  Co.,  Chiltipin  town 
and  river  in  San  Patricio  Co.,  Atoyac  River  in  Eastern  Texas,  af¬ 
fluent  of  Angelina  R.,  running  into  Neelies  River  (Azt.  atoyatl 
river)  and  perhaps  Talpacute  Creek,  Bee  Co.  A  town,  Tenochtitlan, 
formerly  stood  in  Burleson  Co.,  western  shore  of  Brazos  River. 
Several  of  these  Nahuatl-Texian  local  names,  with  Lepantitlan,  are 
explained  by  Prof.  J.  C.  E.  Buschmann,  Spuren  d.  a.  Spr.,  pp. 
416,  417. 

146 


ENGLISH-KARANK  AW  A . 


after  a  while  messus. 

alligator  liokso  S. 

all  the  time  muskawdta. 

also  tenno. 

always  muskawdta. 

and  a,  tenno. 

angry ,  see  S.  vocabulary. 

arrive ,  to  gds  ;  ewe-e,  S. 

arrow  clemoa. 

at  present  messus. 

babe  kwa'n  ;  see  young. 

bad  tchuta. 

barrel  budel. 

bear  o's. 

be,  to;  cf.  page  93. 

be  on  the  point  of  tchdpn. 

beef  tets’oa  ;  tlkemai,  S. 

beef-meat  tets’oa. 

behold,  to  tckd. 

bird  kudn. 

black  pAl ;  ma,  S. 

blue  tso'l. 

boat  awa'n. 

bow  gai. 

boy  gl6-essen  ;  niktam  S. 
bread  kwiamoya. 
break,  to  tdhama. 
breast,  female  karnn. 
brush  tesselenia. 
building  bd-ak. 
by  and  by  messus. 
cabin ,  Indian  lodge  bd-ak. 
calico  kddla. 


camp,  Indian  village  or  huts 
bd-ak. 
canoe  awa'n. 
capture,  to  kaltn. 
cat,  domestic  gdta. 
catch,  to  haltn. 
cattle  tets’oa ;  cf.  beef. 
cause  pain,  to  kassidskuwakn . 
cherish,  to  ka. 
chicken  kutne  wolya. 
chief  kdlba. 

child  kwa'n  ;  see  boy,  young. 
cigarette  ka  swenas  S. 
cloth  kwiss. 

come,  to  gds,  gd’hs  ;  kd’-as  S  ; 
ewe-e,  ewe,  S. 

converse ,  to  kaupn  ;  ga/iametet, 
pdtsim,  S. 

corn,  Indian  kwidm. 
corn  flour  yd,  dmhatn. 
cow  tets’oa  ;  cf.  beef. 
crane  kedo'd. 
dangerous  tchuta. 
day  bdkta. 
dead  mdl. 
dear  mutd. 
deer  do-atn. 
desire,  to  td. 

do,  to  kosdta,  kakawan  ;  how  do 
you  do  ?  m’  tchd  dwa  ? 
dog  kiss. 

drink,  to  akweten. 

duck ,  canvas  bach  medd-u. 


147 


84 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


dugout  awa'n. 

eat,  to  aknamas. 

eatable ;  see  akndmus. 

egg  ddborne. 

eight  baikia  bebema. 

enemy  kom  abdyika. 

fall ,  to  amoak. 

far  off  wdl  nia  ;  cf.  nyd. 

farewell !  atcbdta ! 

father  bebema. 

find,  to  tcbd. 

fine  pld. 

finger  etsma. 

fire  kwiitchi ;  bumbe  S. 

fish  dm. 

five  na'tsa  bebema. 
four  dmhatn. 
foot  kekeya. 

for  a  long  while  mushawdta. 
four  bdyo  bdkn. 
friend  abdyika. 
frying-pan  koldme,  S. 
future  tense  often  expressed  by 
td  or  tcbdpn,  q.  v. 
get  aioay  !  aba'mmisb  sni'n  ! 
girl  ka'da. 
give,  to  bdwus. 

go,  to,  ye ;  let  us  go !  or  go 
away !  wdna  !  S  ;  I  am  go¬ 
ing  to  (do,  etc.)  n’tcbdpn. 
good  bye !  atcbdta ! 
gone  buddma. 
good  pld. 

in  good  health  klabdn. 

goose  la-ak. 

gown  kwiss  kddla. 

grass  awdtcb/ol,  S. 

great  yd- an  ;  a  great  deal  of  wol. 

grow,  to  kwan,  kwdnakwan. 

gunpowder  ku'nmil. 

148 


hand  etsma. 

handsome  bamdla. 

hasten,  to  kota ;  /ankeye,  S. 

^anld,  S.  ewe-e,  S. 
hatchet  matcbita. 
hate,  to  matdkia. 
he  tdl. 

healthy  klabdn. 
heart  Idliama. 
hog  tapshewd. 

horse  kuwdyi ;  kwd,  kwdn  S. 
hostile  kom  abdyika. 
house  bd-ak. 
hungry  dmel. 
hurry,  to,  see :  hasten,  to. 
hurt,  to  kassidsbuwakn. 
hush!  aba'mmisb! 
hut  bd-ak. 

1  ndyi,  na-i. 

injure ,  to  kassidsbuwakn. 

it,  pron.,  tdl. 

jump,  to  era. 

kill,  to  ahuk. 

kitten  gdta  kwdn. 

knife  silekdyi. 

know,  to  kwdss  ;  kumna. 

large  yd- an. 

laugh ,  to  kaita. 

lie  down,  to  wu-ak. 

liquid  glle-i. 

little  kwa  n. 

lodge ;  Indian  or  willow  lodge 
bd-ak. 

long  ago  upat  S. ;  tuwdmka. 

long  past  buddma  wdl. 

love,  to  ka. 

maize  kwidm. 

make,  to  kdbawan  ;  kosdta. 

man  ydmawe  ;  ushi  S.  (?). 

manufacture,  to  kdbawan. 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


85 


marry ,  to  mawida. 
milk  tesnakwdya. 
mine,  my  ndyi. 
molasses  teskaus-glle-i. 
moskito  ga',  gd’h. 
mother  kaninma. 
much  wol. 
music  yo'ta. 
needle  aguiya. 
nice  pi  4. 

nine  haikia  do-atn. 

no  !  kom  ;  kwo-om,  kwom,  S. 

not  kom. 

now  ashdhak. 

obnoxious  tchuta. 

ocean  glle-i. 

octopus  4m  tchuta. 

one  na/tsa. 

open  waters  glle-i. 

oyster  da/. 

past  time;  “in  times  past”  is 
often  expressed  by  tuwdm- 
ka ;  long  past  buddma  wdl. 
perform ,  to  kosdta. 
pig  madona. 
plenty  of  wol. 
potato  ydm. 
pound ,  to  kdssig. 
powerful  wol. 

prairie  chicken  kutne  wolya. 
presently  asbdbak. 
pretty  liamala. 
produce,  to  kdliawan. 
push ,  to  ddn. 

quick!  see  ewe-e,  ewe,  S ;  to  run 
quick  tolos. 
rain  wiasn. 
read ,  to  gw 4. 
red  tamoyika. 
return ,  to;  see  g4s. 


round  14-akum. 

run,  to  tolos  ;  seeydnkeye,  ewe-e. 
say,  to,  or  to  say  to  kaupn ; 
pdtsim,  S. 

scat !  aba'mmisb  sni'n  ! 

sect  glle-i. 

see,  to  tch4. 

serpent  aud. 

seven  baikia  na'tsa. 

she  t41. 

ship  awa'n. 

shirt  gusgdma. 

shoot,  to  odn. 

sick  kwdtcbo. 

sit,  to  bdkes. 

sit  down !  baka  !  tcbakwame  !  S. 

six  b4yo  haikia. 

skip,  to  em. 

sleep,  to  i'm. 

small  kwa'n. 

smoke;  see  dnawan. 

snake  aud. 

soon  messus. 

speak,  to;  see  gayiametet  S., 
pdtsim,  S. 
stand,  to  yetso. 
strike ,  to  gd-an. 
strong  wol. 
suck,  to  enno. 
sugar  teskaus. 
sun  do-owal. 
sweet  teskaus. 
swim,  to  notawa. 
talk ,  to  kaupn  ;  gayiametet  S. 
tall  yd-an. 
teat  kanin. 

tell,  to  kaupn ;  ga^iametet  S. 

pdtsim,  S. 
tear,  to  tdhama. 
ten  do-atn  babe. 


149 


86 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


textile  fabric  kwiss. 

that  tdl. 

titer e  11yd. 

thine ,  thy  dwa. 

this  tdl  . 

thou  awd. 

three  kaydyi. 

tin  bucket  koldme  S. 

tired  kwd-al. 

tobacco  de  ;  kabe,  ka,  S. 

Tonkaice  Indian  Tcbankdya,  S. 

too  tenno. 

tooth  e. 

tooth-brush  e  tesselenia. 
touch,  to  tcbautawal. 
tree  akwini. 

turtle,  large  green  haitnlokn. 
two  baikia. 

understand,  to  kurnna. 
vessel,  sailing  awa'n. 
walk,  to  yo. 


want,  to  ta. 
water  glle-i. 
weep,  to  ovviya. 
well,  adj.,  klabdn. 
where ?  mudd? 
whiskey  labd-i. 
whistle,  to  dksol. 
white  peka,  S. 
wigwam  bd-ak. 
icide  yd-an. 
wind  bd. 
wish,  to  td. 

woman’s  dress  kwiss  kddla. 
work,  to  taklna. 
yes  bie-e. 

yesterday  tuwdmka. 
yonder,  adv.,  nyd. 
young ,  adj.,  kwa'n ;  see  also 
kdbawan. 

young  of  animal  kwa'n. 
youngster  usbi  niktam,  S. 


150 


2.  GRAMMATIC  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  LANGUAGE. 


PHONETICS. 

Phonology  is  that  part  of  grammar  for  which  the  most  informa¬ 
tion  can  be  obtained  from  the  scanty  material  now  on  hand.  The 
little  we  have  is  just  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Karankawa  dia¬ 
lect  in  question  embodied  some  sounds  rarely  occurring  in  Euro¬ 
pean  languages,  and  that  vice  versa  others  well  represented  there 
did  not  enter  into  the  phonologic  system  of  that  dialect.  Its  syl¬ 
labic  structure  was  remarkably  vocalic,  like  that  of  the  majority  of 
languages  spoken  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 

The  consonantic  sounds  subdivide  themselves  into  : 


Explosive  sounds. 

Sounds  of  duration. 

SURD 

SONANT 

SURD 

SONANT 

Gutturals 

k 

g 

X 

h 

Palatals 

tch 

dsh 

y 

Linguals 

sli 

1,  d,  r 

Dentals 

t 

d 

s 

n 

Labials 

P 

b 

w,  in,  m 

It  appears  from  this  list,  that  the  following  sounds,  not  unfre¬ 
quent  in  other  North  American  languages  of  the  southwest,  are 
not  represented  in  this  dialect ;  the  labials  f,  v,  the  lingual  or  cacu¬ 
minal  k,  the  palatalized  1  (‘1  or  h),the  two  dental  aspirates  of 
English  :  th  and  dh  and  the  uvular  trill  r. 

Among  the  sounds  uncommon  in  Indian  languages  we  find  the 
complex  sound  d,  which  varies  considerably  as  to  pronunciation 
and  often  sounds  like  dl,  dn,  tn,  and  occurs  in  Ivayowe,  Omaha, 
Ponka  and  other  tongues  of  the  Mississippi  plains.1  Another  is 

1Tliis  linguo-dental  sound  is  met  with  in  kad'a  calico;  do-atn.  do-ad,  do-etn  deer; 
kedod,  keda’d  crane;  kod,  kodn,  kutD,  bird;  perhaps  also  in  amliatD  flour. 


151 


88 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


m,  which  differs  from  m  by  being  a  final  sound  closing  words  and 
is  pronounced  short  and  with  the  lips  tightly  closed.  The  double  1 
(11)  in  glle-i  liquid,  water,  juice,  is  a  vocalic  1  equal  to  the  thick  l 
of  the  Polish  language.  The  aspirate  y  is  not  frequent,  and  often 
resembles  an  h  forcibly  expelled  from  the  vocal  tube ;  it  occurs  in 
ga^s,  ga’hs  to  come,  ka^ayo  three,  in  nayeruaya  (S.)  My  informant 
said  that  in  pronouncing  their  tribal  name,  the  r  was  very  distinctly 
uttered  by  them  :  Karankawa.  The  older  form  of  the  name  was,  as 
seen  previously,  Clamcoet,  so  that  both  sounds,  1  and  r,  were  inter¬ 
changeable.  Simon  has  r  in  one  word,  but  r  in  the  Spanish  words 
baril  and  mariclo  becomes  budel  and  mawida,  a  fact  proving  that 
Spanish  r  differed  from  the  r  of  that  Indian  dialect. 

It  is  curious  to  observe,  that  the  surd  mutes  here  preponderate 
in  no  manner  over  the  sonant  mutes  (except  in  the  palatals),  for 
this  fact  differs  altogether  from  what  obtains  in  other  languages 
of  North  America.  The  preponderance  of  the  a  among  the  vowels 
appears  to  have  the  same  cause. 

The  vocalic  articulations  of  this  coast  dialect  are  not  numerous, 
and  there  was  a  tendency  to  pronounce  them  indistinctly,  as  Eng¬ 
lish  people  do.  The  series  is  as  follows : 

a  a 

e  a  oo 

i  u 

The  short  a  and  e  was  often  weakened  down  to  e  as  in  butler, 
poker ,  and  between  a  and  o  the  Karankawa  had  an  intermediate 
sound  a,  6,  as  heard  in  ball,  straw.  The  vowel  a  was  apparently 
the  most  frequent  of  all  vocalic  sounds  in  the  language.  Of  the 
three  softened  vowels  of  German,  the  Umlaute  :  a,  o,u,  only  a  oc¬ 
curs  in  the  vocabulary,  the  two  others  being  rare  throughout  North 
America.  The  vowels  were  generally  pronounced  short;  long 
vowels  were  due  to  synizesis  only.  The  vowels  were  not  nasalized 
as  the}’  are  in  French,  Cha’hta,  Tuskarora  and  especially  in  Kayowe, 
where  every  vowel  can  become  nasalized. 

Of  diphthongs  the  language  exhibits  a  considerable  variety, 
though  few  of  them  stand  at  the  commencement  of  words.  In 
many  of  the  diphthongs  the  component  vowels  are  pronounced  and 
accented  separately,  and  when  the}''  are,  a  more  archaic  status  is 
thereby  evidenced.  These  adulterine  diphthongs  are  found  in  the 
large  majority  of  the  Indian  languages.  A  word  entirely  coin- 
152 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


89 


posed  of  vowels  is  owiya  to  weep.  We  meet  with  the  following 
diphthongic  groups  : 

ai  in  :  haikai,  kuwayi  or  kuwai,  laba-i  and  labai,  gai,  kaita. 
ei  in :  kekeya,  glle-i  and  gllei. 
oi  in  :  kwiamoya. 
ui  in  :  kwi&m,  kwiamoya. 

ia,  ya  in  ;  inutakia,  nia  or  nya,  tesselenia,  yamawe,  owiya. 
io,  yo  in  :  yo'ta,  bayo. 
ye  in  :  ye,  yeye,  yetso. 

au,  aw  in  :  awa,  a'wan,  medau  and  medfi-u,  teskaus,  aud,  musha- 
wata,  notawa. 
ou,  ow  in  owiya. 

Alternation  or  spontaneous  permutation  of  cognate  sounds  with¬ 
out  any  apparent  cause  occurred  here  as  well  as  in  all  other  prim¬ 
itive,  unwritten  languages,  though  apparently  more  in  the  vocalic 
than  in  the  consonantic  elements.  The  latter  alternate  in  gw&, 
kw k  to  laugh ,  the  former  in  odn  and  udn,  ahok  and  ahuk,  aknamus 
and  akndmas,  ba'  and  be',  do-atn  and  do-etn,  behema  and  be’hema, 
be’hma,  kom  and  kutn. 

Accentuation.  In  many  words  of  the  vocabularies  the  radical 
syllable  is  the  accented  one,  and  when  stress  is  laid  upon  the  ter¬ 
mination,  or  when  the  terminal  becomes  long  in  quantity,  the  ac¬ 
cent  advances  to  the  ultimate  syllable  :  amel  and  ame-el,  kota  and 
kot&.  The  few  Spanish  words  of  the  vocabularies  are  emphasized 
upon  the  penult,  which  is  the  true  Castilian  pronunciation. 

Gemination.  The  doubling  of  consonants  and  vowels  is  quite 
common  and  appears  to  have  no  other  reason  except  that  of  em¬ 
phasizing.  From  the  elision  in  Mhawan  originates  kA-awan.  Con¬ 
sonants  are  geminated  in  aha'mmish,  enno,  tenno,  kiss,  kassig, 
kwass  ;  vowels  in  kwa-al,  ba-ak,  ga-an,  ya-an  (and  ya'n),  la-ak,  la- 
akum,  kwa-an  (and  kwa'n),  ame-el,  do-owul. 

Grouping  of  sounds.  Vocalic  groups  or  accumulations  have  been 
considered  previously.  As  to  the  groups  of  consonants,  we  find 
but  few  instances,  like  etsma  hand ,  where  more  than  two  conso¬ 
nants  were  joined  into  one  cluster,  and  one  of  these  generally  is  a 
trill  or  a  nasal.  Thus  we  have  aknamas  to  eat ,  glle-i ,  gle-i  liquid , 
glos’n  hoy ,  haitnlokn  turtle,  kaninma  mof7ier,  kassidshuwakn  to  hurt , 
kunmil  gunpowder ,  pla  good,  klaban  healthy ,  sni'n,  kaupn  and 
tchapn.  When  elisions  take  place,  vowels  disappear  and  conso¬ 
nants  often  unite  into  clusters  :  n’  bawus,  n’  tcha  awa,  m’  tcha  awa. 

153 


90 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


Other  consonant-groups  are. observed  in  b&kta  day ,  lialba  chief, 
gusgama  shirt ,  kwdtso  sick,  teskaus  sweet,  tuwamka  yesterday. 

Combinations  of  two  consonants,  especially  of  an  explosive  with 
a  sound  of  duration  following,  are  not  unheard  of  as  initial  sounds 
of  words,  but  consonants  or  vowels  standing  single,  the  former  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  vowel,  are  the  rule.  Syllables  and  words  generally  end 
in  vowels,  which  proves  the  vocalic  character  of  the  language. 

Mode  of  utterance.  From  the  vocabularies  it  would  appear  that 
this  language  was  not  only  vocalic  but  sonorous  also.  But  my  in¬ 
formant  stated  they  spoke  in  “guttural,  indifferent  tones,”  and  that 
the  “deep  gutturals  of  their  language  combed  the  expression  of 
extreme  fatigue.”  Further  explanations  elicited  the  fact,  that  their 
utterance  was  monotonous  and  indistinct,  because  they  took  nei¬ 
ther  the  trouble  of  speaking  aloud  nor  distinctly  and  often  abbrevi¬ 
ated  the  terms.  The  “extreme  fatigue”  or  “anxiety  ”  I  have  often 
remarked  in  the  utterance  of  Indians  on  the  Pacific  coast,  who  had 
not  more  gutturals  in  their  language  than  we  have  in  English.  The 
cause  of  this  apparent  “  fatigue  ”  lies  in  their  laryngeal  utterance, 
while  the  glottis  is  left  open  and  in  their  habit  of  protracting  their 
sentences  beyond  the  supply  of  breath  which  they  can  command. 

MORPHOLOGY. 

In  the  linguistic  material  before  us  there  is  very  little  which  could 
give  us  a  clue  to  the  grammatic  structure  of  this  coast  idiom.  The 
nouns  do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  inflection  for  case1  and  the 
verbs  were  inflected  by  auxiliary  verbs— but  we  have  always  to  bear 
in  mind,  that  the  informant  had  not  heard  this  language  spoken 
for  at  least  thirty-eight  years,  and  that  therefore  the  syllables  and 
sounds  expressing  grammatic  relation  may  have  escaped  her  mem¬ 
ory. 

Reduplication  was  certainly  one  of  the  synthetic  features  of  that 
language  and  had  the  function  of  iteration,  repetition  or  severalty; 
this  becomes  apparent  from  kwanuakwan  to  grow ,  compared  with 
the  simple  form  kahawan  to  make,  to  produce.  Yeye  to  go,  said  of 
many,  is  the  reduplicated  form  of  ye  to  go.  The  noun  kekeya/eei 
is  also  showing  a  reduplicated  form  and  I  take  it  to  be  a  real  plural 
of  a  supposed  form  keya  foot ;  cf.  kio  to  walk ,  go  in  the  Comecrudo 
language.  From  these  examples  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  all 

1  In  Toukawe  the  case-suffixes,  or  what  may  pass  for  such,  are  still  in  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  postpositions  to  the  noun. 

lot 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


91 


the  various  methods  of  reduplication,  hut  from  analogous  facts  in 
Tonkawe  and  Pakawa  it  becomes  probable  that  the  first  syllable  was 
the  reduplicated  one. 

The  series  of  numerals  is  either  faulty  or  not  given  in  the  cor¬ 
rect  order  and  hence  no  dependable  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from 
it. 

Pronouns.  The  personal  pronoun  was  identical  with  the  pos¬ 
sessive  pronoun,  if  the  examples  are  correct,  and  this  would  prove 
that  the  verb  was  in  fact  not  a  verb  nor  a  noun-verb,  but  a  real 
noun ;  thus  “  I  kill  ”  had  to  be  expressed  by  my  hilling  and  “  I  kill 
a  chicken  ”  by  my  hilling  of  a  chicken.  The  personal  pronoun  was 
placed  before,  not  after  the  noun  qualified. 

If  the  pronoun  of  the  first  person  of  the  singular  allows  any  in¬ 
ference  concerning  the  other  pronouns,  they  were  often  abbreviated  ; 
we  find  them  abbreviated  also  when  used  in  the  case  of  the  direct 
and  indirect  object.  Nayi,  na-i  /  becomes  n’,  ne,  in  n’  tclie  awa  I 
see  you ,  ne  bawus  kwatchi  give  me  fire.  It  is  possessive  :  my,  mine 
in  na-i  gai  my  boio ;  na-i  kaninma  bekema  ta  kaupn  my  mother 
wants  to  speak  to  the  father. 

The  pronoun  of  the  second  person  of  the  singular  number  is  awa 
you,  thou  and  thy,  thine;  perhaps  we  find  it  abbreviated  to  a-  in 
the  term  atchata  good-bye,  farewell,  if  this  can  be  resolved  into 
a  tcha  ta  (I)  want  to  see  you  (again),  or  (/)  shall  see  you  (again). 

The  demonstrative  pronoun  tal  this,  that  also  served  to  express 
our  he,  she,  it. 

Other  pronominal  roots  appear  in  nia,  nya,  there,  yonder,  abbrev. 
to  ya  ;  and  in  muda  where ?  cf.  m’  in  :  m’  tcha  awa?  liotc  do  you  do? 

Verbal  inflection.  From  the  syntactic  examples  I  conclude  that 
the  verb  (or  the  noun  having  predicative  verbal  function)  did  not 
inflect  for  person,  but  that  the  personal  pronoun  was  placed  sepa¬ 
rately,  and  generally  before  the  verb.  We  do  not  know  how  the 
past  tense  was  expressed,  though  some  temporal  particle  seems  to 
have  served  for  the  purpose.  The  future  tense  was  often  indicated 
by  ta  to  wish,  leant  or  by  tchapn  to  be  on  the  point  of,  both  being 
placed  before  the  verb . 

na-i  ta  hakes  I  am  going  to  sit  dozen,  I  shall  sit  down. 

na-i  be’hrna  ta  im  my  father  is  going  to  sleep,  or  ivants  to  sleep. 

n’  tchapn  awa  o'dn  I  will  shoot  you. 

Perhaps  in  the  suffix  -pn  the  idea  of  futurity  was  inherent  also  : 

155 


92 


THE  KAEANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


ta  kaupn  (she)  ivants  to  speak  ;  or  it  may  have  been  the  suffix  form¬ 
ing  a  gerund  or  other  verbal. 

The  imperative  and  interrogative  sentences  contained  in  the  vo¬ 
cabulary  do  not  contain  any  forms  differing  from  the  declarative 
forms  of  the  verb.  Negative  statements  were  expressed  by  the 
particle  kom,  kum  standing  separate  from  the  verb ;  of  a  passive 
verb  no  example  was  obtained,  neither  do  we  have  any  indications 
how  participles  and  verbals  were  formed. 

Of  particles  transmitted  there  are  only  a  few :  a  and,  ashahak 
note,  m’siis  soon,  mushawata  for  a  long  time,  tenno  also,  tuwamka 
yesterday. 

Radioed  syllables.  The  monosyllabic  roots,  as  far  as  recogniza¬ 
ble  in  the  words  of  the  vocabulary,  frequently  terminated  in  vowels, 
but  just  as  often  in  consonants  and  their  vowels  were  short.  Many 
monosyllables  in  the  vocabulary  represent  bases  rather  than  roots 
and  also  end  in  consonants,  and  their  brevity  agrees  well  with  the 
thoroughly  analytic  character  of  the  language.  Thus  we  have  and 
snake,  de  tobacco ,  gal  bow,  am  fish,  e  tooth,  im  to  sleep,  mal  dead, 
pla  good,  wal,  wol  (1)  large,  (2)  much. 

SYNTAX. 

There  are  no  instances  in  the  vocabularies  to  show  the  use  of  post¬ 
positions  ;  but  whenever  ba-ak  is  employed  in  the  sense  of  in  the 
house ,  to  or  from  the  house,  it  stands  without  affix  after  its  verb 
and  at  the  end  of  the  sentence : 

na-i  kota  ba-ak  I  am  hurrying  home. 
ka'da  hakes  ba-ak  the  girl  sits  in  the  house. 

A  remarkable  freedom  must  have  prevailed  concerning  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  words  in  the  sentence.  The  direct  and  the  indirect  object 
could  be  placed  after  as  well  as  before  the  verb,  for  we  find  : 
na-i  awa  ka  I  love  you. 
na-i  demoa  kahawan  I  make  arroivs. 
na-i  ye  dotn  aliok  lam  going  to  kill  deer. 
na-i  aknamus  kwiamoya  I  am  eating  bread. 
na-i  amoak  akwini  I  fell  from  the  tree. 
na-i  kwatchi  kosata  m’sus  I  icill  make  fire  soon. 

The  adverb  is  sometimes  placed  after  the  verb  it  qualifies  at- 
tributively,  and  at  the  end  of  the  sentence :  na-i  ye  wol  I.  walked  a 
good  deal ;  na-i  avvan  tcha  nya  I  see  a  boat  over  there  (wal  nya far  off). 
156 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


93 


Nominal  and  pronominal  attributes  were  placed  before  or  after 
the  nouns  which  they  qualified.  In  compound  nouns  the  determin¬ 
ing  word  precedes  the  word  qualified  : 

am  tehuta  octopus ,  viz.  “dangerous  fish.” 

e  tesselenia  tootli-brusli. 

gata  kwan  kitten,  viz.,  “  cat’s  offspring.” 

Ivarankawa  halba  a  Karctnkaiva  chief. 
tal  akwini  this  tree;  na-i  behema  my  father. 
teskaus-glle-i  molasses,  viz.,  “  sweet  juice.” 

The  verb  to  be  was  not  expressed  when  in  the  present  tense,  but 
then  the  nominal  predicate  (noun  or  adjective)  was  placed  at  the 
end  of  the  sentence  : 
na-i  amel  I  am  hungry. 
na-i  glos’n  kwatcho  my  boy  is  sick. 
ashahak  kwa-al  now  he  is  tired. 
awa  kaninma  klaban?  is  your  mother  ivell  ? 
tal  akwini  hamala  this  tree  is  pretty. 

It  must  remain  a  matter  of  doubt,  whether  Karankawahad  a  sub¬ 
stantive  verb  or  not,  for  it  cannot  be  inferred  from  the  sentences 
on  hand,  how  it  was  expressed  in  the  past,  future  and  other  tenses. 

DERIVATION. 

To  obtain  an  idea  of  the  mode  of  derivation  in  this  language, 
all  that  can  be  done  is  to  gather  and  rubricate  the  affixes  or  what 
appears  to  be  affixes.  These  are  prevailingly  suffixes,  and  only 
one  of  the  affixes,  a-,  may  be  suspected  of  being  a  prefix. 

a-  occurs  in  akwini  tree,  and  is  a  prefix,  if  this  noun  is  a  deriva¬ 
tive  of  kwan  (c/.  kwannakwa  to  groiv)  ;  also  in  ahayika  friend, 
friendly,  if  this  is  a  derivative  of  liaikai  “  two  together.”  If  we 
regard  akwamus  to  eat  as  connected  with  kwiam  maize,  or  food  in 
general,  a-  has  to  be  considered  here  as  a  prefix  also. 

Suffixes  of  derivation.  Suffixes  are  either  verbal  or  nominal  or 
both  simultaneously. 

-aya,  -ayi,  -a-i  appears  in  k  ay  ayi  three,  laba-i  whiskey,  silekayi 
knife,  tesnakwaya  milk. 

-ika  occurs  in  ahayika/n'end,  tamoyika  red ;  perhaps  in  tuwamka 
yesterday,  if  this  has  originated  from  tuwamika. 

-1  is  found  chiefly  in  adjectives,  as  amel  hungry,  mal  dead,  kwa-al 
tired,  tal  this  one,  tsd'l  blue,  wal,  wol  large  and  numerous.  We  also 
find  it  in  kunmil  gunpowder. 


157 


94 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


-ma  occurs  in  behema  father ,  budama  gone  (perhaps  a  partici¬ 
ple)  ,  etsma  hand ,  gusgama  shirt ,  lahama  heart ,  kamnma  mother , 
a  derivative  of  kanin  female  breast;  it  also  occurs  in  the  verb  ta- 
liaraa  to  break ,  tear. 

-n  is  a  frequent  suffix  and  appears  in  the  following  verbs  :  ak- 
weten  to  drink ,  kahawan  to  produce,  ga-an  to  strike;  also  in  nouns, 
like  kwa'n  young,  little,  kanin  breast,  klaban  healthy,  ya-an  large, 
tall,  wi-asn  rain ,  and  in  the  particle  sni'n.  Whether  -n  is  the  full 
suffix,  or  whether  it  is  the  remnant  of  a  longer  form  like  -an  is  a 
matter  of  doubt. 

-na  occurs  in  kumna  to  knoiv,  takina  to  work;  also  in  mado'na 

pig- 

-s  is  verbal  and  nominal  suffix  :  aknamas  to  eat,  bawus  to  give, 
gas  to  come,  kwas  to  know,  tolos  to  run;  also  in  kiss  dog,  kwiss 
cloth,  tissue  and  in  m’sus  soon,  by  and  by. 

-ta  occurs  in  some  of  the  verbs  of  the  vocabulary  :  kaita  to  laugh, 
kosata  to  perform ,  kota  to  hasten;  in  nouns  and  particles:  bakta 
day,  yo'ta  music,  muta  dear,  tclnita  bad,  muda  where  ?  cf.  tchaiita- 
wal. 


REMARKS  ON  A  FEW  TERMS. 

To  promote  all  further  inquiries  on  the  language  as  much  as 
feasible  I  add  some  remarks  upon  the  function  and  derivation  of 
some  terms  to  those  presented  previously,  excluding  the  numerous 
Spanish  words  which  have  crept  into  the  language.  These  were 
qualified  as  such  in  the  vocabulary,  and  if  tsol  blue  is  the  Spanish 
azul,  this  term  has  to  be  added  to  the  list. 

ba  is  probably  not  wind  but  the  verb  to  blow ;  wol  ba  it  blows 
hard. 

da'  oyster ;  the  original  meaning  is  probably  shell,  and  this  would 
explain  da-home  egg,  viz.,  “  what  has  a  shell,”  or  “  what  is  in  the 
shell.” 

do-owal  sun.  Should  this  term  be  derived  from  the  word  for 
heat  as  it  is  in  many  southern  languages,  then  I  would  consider  do- 
owal  as  a  compound  of  the  adjective  wal  strong,  great  (“  great 
heat”).  Thus  in  Naktche  the  archaic  term  for  the  sun  was  wa- 
slnl  “  fire  great in  Tonkawe  ta/ash  is  sun,  ta/an  heat ;  in  Nalin- 
atl  tonatiuh  sun,  tona  to  be  hot.  In  the  Cotoname  o',  6  is  sun  and 
day. 

158 


THE  KAEANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


95 


haitn  to  catch ,  capture  composes  the  word  haitnlokn  large  green 
turtle. 

kassidshuwakn  to  hurt  is  a  compound  of  kassig  to  pound,  which 
may  have  had  other  significations  besides.  From  this  the  exis¬ 
tence  of  compound  verbs  becomes  probable. 

kaupn  to  tell,  speak,  seems  connected  with  gwa,  kwa  to  read ,  of 
which  the  original  meaning  must  have  been  to  speak  (to  the  paper)  ; 
cf.  the  English  to  read  with  German  reden,  to  speak. 

kutne  wol  ya  hen,  prairie  chicken ,  is  probably  a  whole  sentence : 
“  birds-m  an}'- there  (are)”  or  “  bird-large-there  (is).”  I  assume 
that  nya  is  here  abbreviated  into  ya. 

la-ak  goose  is  an  onomatopoetic  term,  corresponding  to  lalak  goose 
or  brant-goose  in  Pacific  coast  languages.  Owiya  to  weep  seems  to 
have  also  an  onomatopoetic  origin. 

pal  black.  My  informant  was  not  quite  certain  about  this  term, 
which  in  Comecrudo  is  used  in  that  sense.  Old  Simon  has  ma  black. 
The  Coton ame  dialect  has  bai  for  dark ,  black ,  night. 

yo'ta  does  not  signify  musical  instrument ,  but  music  only. 


3.  AFFINITIES  OF  THE  LANGUAGE. 

While  engaged  in  comparing  the  scanty  remnants  of  this  littoral 
dialect  with  other  tongues  now  spoken  throughout  Texas  and  Mex¬ 
ico,  I  have  met  with  linguistic  facts  which  give  us  a  firm  foothold 
for  assigning  the  Karankawa  people  its  true  ethnic  position.  When 
the  language  of  a  people  is  shown  to  pertain  to  a  certain  family, 
this  does  not  always  determine  the  ethnic  race  to  which  it  belongs  ; 
but  in  this  western  hemisphere  it  does  so  in  most  instances,  be¬ 
cause  here  the  nations  which  are  known  to  have  exchanged  their 
paternal  language  for  that  of  other  national  bodies  by  conquest, 
commercial  intercourse  or  other  contact  are  by  no  means  as  nu¬ 
merous  as  in  the  eastern  hemisphere. 

The  languages  which  I  have  compared  with  positive  results  were 
the  Tonkawe  on  one  side  and  three  Pakawa  dialects  upon  the  other  : 
Comecrudo,  Cotoname  and  the  dialect  of  Garcia’s  “  Manual  ”  of 
1760.  All  of  these  are  so  unlike  the  Karankawa  that  it  takes  con¬ 
siderable  time  to  find  in  them  any  facts  pointing  to  affinity  and  the 
idioms  are  so  unintelligible  to  each  other  that  the  Indians  of  none 
of  these  three  languages  could  have  entertained  the  idea  that  all 
came  from  a  common  stock. 


159 


96 


THE  KAEANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


AFFINITY  OF  KAJRANKAWA  WITH  TONKAWE. 

ewe,  ewe-e  !  come  here!  T.  nivve  come  here!  we  ewan  in  that  di¬ 
rection. 

haitnlokn  great  green  turtle;  T.  o/oloko,  o/olakau  oyster ,  mussel , 
shell;  the  second  part  loko  recalls  the  Kar.  lokn,  liaitn  meaning  to 

capture. 

liie-e',  liie-a !  yes!  T.  belie,  yes. 

kod,  kudn,  laid  bird;  T.  kola,  ko-ola  bird. 

/ankeye  to  run,  hasten;  T.  liana,  /ana,  redupl.  /a/a  to  ivalk,  to 
be  going ;  /ayen  going. 

tal,  this,  this  one;  T.  tele,  tel  this,  this  one  and  adv.  here. 
tclia  to  see ,  to  find;  T.  yatcho,  yetchu  to  see ,  to  find;  ya-,ye-  being 
prefixes. 

wtd  large,  great,  numerous;  T.  kwalo  large. 
wana  to  go,  to  leave;  T.  wanen  it  is  going  (said  of  a  bullet)  ;  ta- 
nsbo  wana  shooting  star ;  sekieshte  wanen  seven-shooter ;  wan  wa-al 
just  so,  like  this. 

AFFINITY  OF  KARAN  ICAWA  WITH  PAKAWA  DIALECTS. 

(Com. — Comecrudo;  Cot. — Cotoname;  G. — Garcia), 
aknamus  to  eat;  Cot.  /a/dme,  liahame  to  eat ;  akwanamie  to  mas¬ 
ticate. 

ba,  ba'  ivind  or  it  bloivs;  Com.  pot  wind,  pepot  blowing. 
e,  e’h  tooth;  Com.  iy  ;  lie-6 wu  i  tooth. 
gai  bow ;  Com.  /ai,  kai  icood,  tree,  /ai  and  /ai  pataple  boiv. 
ka  to  love,  to  like;  G.  kdwa,  redupl.  kakawa  (spelt:  cacagua). 
kanin  teat,  female  breast;  Com.  kenem,  knem  teat  and  female  ani¬ 
mal,  kene  chest  (of  man) . 
kiss  dog ;  Cot.  kissa  fox. 
kod,  lsodn,  bird;  Cot.  komiom  bird. 

kom,  kiim,  kwo-om  no!  Com.  kam;  G.  a/ara,  )'a/am  not. 
kumna  to  know;  Com.  kam  to  know. 

kwannakwan  to  grow;  Com.  kwaskam  to  grow  (plants)  ;  kwas 
fruit. 

nayi,  na-i,  nai  I ;  G.  na-  I. 

peka  white;  Com.  pok,  puk  (in  pepok,  pepuk,  pe-  being  prefix) 

white. 

pi  a  good;  Com.  pele,  p’le  good. 

sni'n,  a  particle  occurring  in  an  exclamatory  phrase  :  aba'mmish 
160 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


97 


sni'n,  q.  v.;  Garcia  has  snon  for  sail  inon  ;  yakal  ajam  snon  we 
vayas  tu,  do  not  go,  Manual,  p.  30 ;  yayuna  sno  (I  order)  that  you 
have  to  fast,  ibid. ;  yamestia  sno  (I  order)  that  you  have  to  pray, 

ibid. 

tal  this,  this  one;  G.  ta-  in  tapa,  tapom  the  one  (who  is)  here. 
upat  long  ago ;  G.  apa  at  that  time. 

There  are  several  other  Karankawa  terms  which  seem  to  be  re¬ 
lated  to  words  of  the  Pakawa  dialects  ;  but  the  affinity  not  being 
certain  and  perhaps  illusory,  I  have  gathered  them  after  the  others 
into  this  appendix : 

ba-ak  house,  lodge;  Com.  wamak  house. 

aliuk  to  kill;  Cot.  watyuka  to  kill,  cf.  wateyo  he  died. 

glo-essn,  glos’n  boy ;  Cot.  kuwosam  little  boy,  little  girl. 

ira  to  sleep ;  Com.  -em  in  nemet  to  sleep. 

ma  black ;  Cot.  bai  black,  dark,  night. 

niktam  boy;  if  it  means  “not  yet  adult,”  it  may  be  connected 
with  Cot.  katam  large,  adidt,  grown  up. 

kahe,  ka  tobacco ;  Com.  a’h  tobacco;  or  it  may  be  connected  with 
Com.  yai  ivood,  tree,  plant. 

From  the  above  lists  it  appears  that  the  probability  of  a  linguis¬ 
tic  affinity  existing  between  Karankawa  and  the  Pakawa  dialects 
is  rather  strong  and  will  probably  increase  with  further  researches 
made  in  Garcia’s  “Manual”  of  1760  and  in  the  surviving  dialects 
of  Pakawa. 

The  proofs  for  an  affinity  between  Tonkawe  and  Karankawa  are 
rather  scarce,  but  would  by  themselves  become  strong  in  spit-  of 
their  paucity,  if  relationship  could  be  proved  to  exist  between  Ton¬ 
kawe  and  Pakawa  dialects  by  direct  comparisons.  In  this  direc¬ 
tion  I  could  find  only  what  follows  : 

T.  a ■/,  a'/  water,  liquid;  Com.  Cot.  a y  water,  liquid. 

T.  an,  a-u  deer,  awash  buffalo,  meat,  flesh;  Com.  ewe,  eu-e  deer, 
and  meat. 

T.  ashui  belly;  G.  as’hipok  belly. 

T.  kala,  kal  mouth;  Com.  yal  mouth;  cf.  kam  to  eat,  in  T.  yaya. 
T.  /&-  in  ya'slie,  /a/si  leaf,  husk;  sa-yai  arrow;  nenyashan  wood; 
Com.  yai plant,  wood,  tree;  cf.  Kar.  kahe  (this  page). 

T.  ekwan  dog;  Cot.  kowa-u  dog  (see  below). 

T.  -tsay  in  yetsay  chest ,  breast;  G.  tzotz  breast. 

Derivatives  of  the  verb  kahawan,  ka-awan  to  make,  produce ,  seem 
to  link  together  all  the  languages  just  considered.  I  assumed  that 
p.  m.  papers,  i.  11  161 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


98 

this  verb  could  also  be  employed  intransitively  in  the  sense  of 
growing ;  cf.  kwannakwa  to  grow.  Nouns  formed  from  kahawan 
would  then  have  either  an  active  signification,  as  in  T.  kwa'n 
woman  and  wife,  also  female  animal ,  viz.  “  producer”  and  Kar. 
kwa’n  young ,  little ,  viz.  “growing.”  This  reappears  in  T.  wi/wan 
young ,  little ,  small  (we-,  wi-  is  often  plural  prefix),  in  Com.  kwas 
fruit  and  perhaps  in  Com.  pakwaula  married  (man),  G.  ak’au  hus¬ 
band,  viz.  “procreator.”  Ekwan  dog  for  yekwan  “  generating” 
(T.)  may  also  belong  here,  as  dogs  belong  to  the  most  prolific 
among  the  animals. 

I  have  also  compared  over  two  hundred  words  of  other  southern 
Indian  languages  with  Karankawa  terms  of  similar  or  related  sig- 
nifieations  in  order  to  trace  further  affinities  or  loan-words.  The 
languages  compared  were  Caddo  and  cognate  dialects,  Tonika, 
Shetimasha,  Na’htchi,  the  Maskoki  dialects,  Yuchi.and  Ataltapa. 
On  account  of  its  proximity  to  the  Karankawa  lands  I  expected  to 
find  a  number  of  analogies  in  the  latter,  but  was  disappointed,  the 
most  of  them  being  furnished  by  Shetimasha  of  Southern  Louisiana. 
K.  kiss  dog ;  Shet.  kish  ;  lush  atm  is  horse,  viz.  “  large  animal.” 
6,  e’h  tooth,  Shet.  i ;  i  kipi  gums ,  viz.  “  tooth-flesh.” 
ba',  Com.  pot  wind ;  Shet.  poko,  poku"  wind. 
la-ak  goose ,  onomatop. ;  Na’htchi  lalak,  Yuchi  shanlala. 
am  fish  ;  Na’htchi  a  '"fish. 

ya  this  one;  Shet.  ha,  a  ;  Na’htche  kaya ,  Atak.  ya. 
apcl  Com.  above,  shy  and  face  ;  Koassati  aba;  Tonika  aparu  sky. 
a’h,  a//  water  Com. ;  a/  in  Atakapa  and  in  Tonkawe. 
kahe,  ka  tobacco ;  Caddo  naki  ka’liwa  /  smoke :  tobacco  being  yaha. 
in  Caddo. 

ma  black  ;  Atak.  mel,  melmel  ;  Tonika  mcli. 


162 


VII.  BIBLIOGRAPHIC  ANNOTATIONS. 


The  “  Relation  ”  of  Joutel ,  which  is  of  importance  for  the  study 
of  manners  and  customs  of  the.Texan  coast  Indians,  has  come  down 
to  our  times  in  several  editions  differing  considerably  among  them¬ 
selves.  A  narrative  running  parallel  to  that  in  Margry,  Decouver- 
tes,  vol.  hi,  120-172  will  be  found  in  B.  F.  French,  Historical  Col¬ 
lections  of  Louisiana,  Part  I  (New  York,  1840,  8vo),  94-118,  etc. 
An  early  English  edition  of  Joutel  was  published  in  London,  1714. 

Additional  information  on  the  KaranJcawa  tribe  is  contained  in 
Charlevoix,  History  of  New  France,  iv,  75-77  (ed.  Shea)  and  in 
Bonnel,  Topographic  Description  of  Texas,  Austin,  1840. 

Mounds  and  graves  in  Aransas  County,  near  Salt  Creek  on  Hynes 
Bay,  “  where  the  Karankawas  formerly  dwelt,”  are  described  by 
Y.  Bracht  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
1879,  p.  442. 

The  Aranama  tribe,  a  peaceable  people  mentioned,  pp.  29  and 
34,  as  living  at  La  Bahia  del  Espiritu  Santo  mission,  appear  to  be 
identical  with  the  Xaranames  of  some  Mexican  documents  pre¬ 
served  in  the  Texas  state  archives,  cf.  p.  79.  In  this  case  we  shall 
have  to  assume  that  the  initial  guttural  /  was  lost,  and  the  Kiro- 
nonas,  who  lived  on  St.  Bernard’s  bay,  may  in  their  name  repre¬ 
sent  another  form  of  the  same  aboriginal  appellation  ;  see  p.  35. 
Document  No.  83  of  the  Texas  archives,  date  about  1792,  mentions 
thirty-two  Xaranames  who  had  run  away  from  the  mission  of  Es¬ 
piritu  Santo. 


163 


INDEX. 


Affinities  of  Karankawa  language, 
95-98. 

Akonkisa,  40,  70,  same  as  Orcoquiza, 
q.  v. 

Alasapas,  38. 

Anthropophagy,  15,  26,  27. 

Antonio,  chief,  20,  48,  67. 

Apaches,  27,  33,  40-42,  c/.  Lipan. 
Aranamas,  29,  34,  c/.  Xaranames. 
Aransas,  29,  45,  48,  49,  54,  81. 
Assinai  tribes,  27,  33,  35,  39,  40. 
Atakapa,  26,  27,  33,  36,  39,  45,  98. 
Attire,  ornamental,  17,  62. 

Austin,  Stephen,  30,  31,  35. 

Bahamos ;  see  Ebahamos. 

Barcia,  Ensayo,  25  (Note),  35. 

Historiadores,  23(Note). 
Belle-Isle,  Simars  de,  26. 

Bidai,  29,  39  (and  Note),  79. 
Biskatronge,  34,  35. 

Black  drink,  18,  71. 

Borrados,  29  (and  Note),  38. 
Bi-acamos,  24,  25,  35. 

Brazos  river,  30,  31,  37. 

Brazos  Santiago,  31,  46. 

Bridges,  Thos.,  vii,  viii,  9,  30,  48, 
66-69,  70. 

Buschmann,  J.  C.  E.,  33,  36,  49. 


Cabe§a  de  Yaca,  Alvar  Nunez,  23, 
34,  71. 

Caddo,  27,  37,  39,  40,  98. 

Camoles,  23. 

Cancy,  27,  37  (Note),  41. 

Caney  creek,  47,  53,  55. 

Canoes,  10,  16,  61. 

Caoques,  23,  34,  35. 

Carrizos,  38,  51,  79. 

Cenis,  27,  39,  40;  see  Assinai. 
Chayopines,  38. 

Chicliimeca,  39. 

Chorruco,  23. 

Clamcoet,  25,  27,  43,  88. 

Climate  of  coast,  57. 

Coast  lagoons,  54. 


Coco  Indians,  28,  35,  36. 

Colorado  river  of  Texas,  28,  30,  34, 
42,  45. 

Comanches,  27,  28,  29,  33,  41,  42, 
46,  47. 

Comecrudo,  38,  42-44 ;  language, 
95-98. 

Contents,  table  of,  iii. 

Corpus  Christi,  28,  34,  37,  54. 
Cotoname,  38,  43;  language,  95-98. 
Counting,  method  of,  69. 

Cujanos,  24,  34,  35. 

Derivation  of  words,  93,  94. 
Disposal  of  the  dead,  19,  68. 
Doguenes,  23. 

Dogs,  24,  43,  44,  97,  98. 

Dress,  17,  61. 

Dwellings,  10,  11,  17,  63,  64. 

Ebahamos,  23-25,  35. 

Erigoanna,  35. 

Etymologies,  of  local  names,  81,  82 ; 
of  Karankawa  terms,  94,  95. 

Fauna  of  the  coast,  56. 

Fire-drill,  10,  11. 

Fire-signalling,  19,  70,  71. 

Flora  of  the  coast,  57. 

Food  of  the  Karankawa,  11,  17, 
59-61. 


Galveston  bay,  45,  54. 

Galveston  island,  30. 

Garcia,  B.,  Padre,  38,  51,  95-98. 
Garza,  Padre,  28. 

Gatschet,  Albert  S.,  3,  6;  The  Ka¬ 
rankawa  Indians,  21-99. 
Gesture  language,  70. 

Goliad,  city,  29,  31. 

Grammatic  elements,  87-94. 
Grasmeyer,  T.  W.,  correspondence 
of,  37. 

Guaycoaes,  23. 
j  Gyle,  A.  B.,  letter,  47. 


165 


102 


INDEX. 


Hammond,  Chas.  A.,  v;  biograph¬ 
ical  notice  of  Mrs.  Oliver,  vii; 
the  Carancahua  tribe  of  Indi¬ 
ans,  9-13. 

Han,  23  (and  Note),  34. 

Harpe,  Benard  de  la,  2G,  27,  37 
(Note). 

Ilebohamos,  24. 

Hermaphrodites,  68. 

Head  flattening,  62,  63  (and  Note). 

Higos,  los  de  los,  23. 

Holley,  Mrs.  M.  A.,  31. 

Isladel  Mali) ado,  23  (Note),  34. 

Isla  del  Padre,  46,  49,  cf. ,  Brazos 
Santiago. 

Jose  Maria,  chief,  47,  48. 

Joutel,  explorer,  23,  24,  35. 

Kayowe,  33,  42,  43. 

Karankawa  Indians :  anointing 
themselves,  17,  24,  62;  bodily 
appearance  and  constitution, 
17,24,  57-59;  canoes,  10,  16, 
61;  children,  17,  59,  66;  camp¬ 
fires,  10;  chiefs,  47,  48,  64; 
country  and  its  climate,  53-67 ; 
disposal  of  the  dead,  19,  68; 
downfall  of  the  nation,  46-51 ; 
ethnography  of,  57-71 ;  expelled 
from  Texas,  49-51 ;  fights  with 
settlers,  30-32;  food,  11,  59, 
61 ;  historic  notes  down  to  1835, 
23-32;  hostility  towards  the 
whites,  30;  our  knowledge  of 
them  but  fragmentary,  21 ;  La- 
fltte  attacks  them,  30 ;  language 
of,  73-98 ;  lodges  and  camps, 
10,  11,  17,  63,  64:  manners  and 
customs,  16,  17,  67,  68;  mental 
attainments,  68-71 ;  moral  char¬ 
acter,  19,  20,  65-67 ;  personal 
names,  70;  religious  festival, 
13,  71 ;  settled  on  two  missions, 
28,  29 ;  settlements,  26,  28,  45- 
51,  and  the  map;  signalling, 
19,  70,  71;  tribal  synonymy, 
43,  44;  utensils,  12;  vocabula¬ 
ries,  73,  79,  83;  wars,  15,  29-32, 
46-51;  weapons,  12,  13. 

Keles,  44,  67,  79. 

Kemper  murdered,  49. 

Kichai,  39. 

Kironona,  35,  44. 

Koieukahe,  23,  43. 

Iiopano,  15,  45,  46,  54,  SI,  82. 

Kouyam,  Quouan,  23,  24. 

166 


Kriwitz,  E„  48. 

Kuykendall,  Abner,  31. 

Kwahada,  41. 

La  Bahia  del  Espiritu  Santo, 
mission,  29,  31,  cf.  45,  46,  47. 
Lafitte,  pirate,  30,  45. 

Language  of  the  Karankawa,  73-98. 
Lavaca  bay,  45,  54. 

Lavaca  river,  28,  31. 

Lipan,  28,  29,  33,  40,  41,  44,  51. 
Lodges  or  wigwams,  10,  11,  17,  63, 
64. 

Maligne  river,  23,  24. 

Manahuila  creek,  31,  81. 

Manners  and  customs,  16,  17,  67, 

68. 

Manos  de  Perro,  38. 

Map  of  the  Karankawa  haunts  and 
settlements ;  opposite  page  46. 
Maratino,  39. 

Mariames,  23. 

Matagorda,  vii,  9,  28,  32,  37,  45,  54, 
55,  67. 

Mayes,  35. 

Mayeye,  35. 

Medicine  men,  70. 

Meudica,  23. 

Mental  attainments,  18,  68-71. 
Mescaleros,  41,  42. 

Mescales,  38. 

MGye,  36,  37. 

Milfort,  26. 

Missions  in  Texas,  26,  28,  29,  31, 
46  ;  cf.  La  Bahia. 

Moral  character,  17,  65. 

Musical  instruments,  18. 
Miihlenpfordt,  49. 

Nabaidatclie,  40. 

Nacogdoches,  25,  36. 

Na’htchi,  95,  98. 

Nahuatl  local  names  in  Texas,  82. 
Na-islia  Apaches,  42. 

Names,  personal,  70. 

Narvaez,  Pamfilo  de,  23. 

Nueces  bay,  28,  54. 

Nueces  river,  46,  48. 

Numerals,  69,  91  (and  in  Vocabula¬ 
ries). 

Old  Simon,  36,  37,  43,  79,  80. 
Oliver,  Alice  Williams ;  v,  vii,  44,  47, 
48,  54-57,  70,  71,  80;  biograph¬ 
ical  notice,  vii,  Notes  on  the 
Carancahua  Indians,  15-20; 
her  vocabulary,  73-78. 


INDEX. 


103 


Orcoquiza,  28,  36,  40. 

Orejones,  38,  39. 

Pacaos,  38. 

Pacoas,  38. 

Pacuaches,  38. 

Paduka,  27. 

Painting,  art  of,  69. 

Pajalates,  38. 

Pakawa,  linguistic  family,  33,  37-39, 
51 ;  language,  95-98. 

Pamaques,  38. 

Painpopas,  38. 

Pani,  27. 

Pani  tribes,  39-40. 

Pausanes,  38. 

Penetethka,  41. 

Phonetics,  87,  88. 

Pihuiques,  38. 

Pohoi,  41. 

Pottery,  24,  69. 

Pronouns,  91. 

Putnam,  F.  W.,  viii;  prefatory  no¬ 
tice,  v- 

Quelancouchis,  44. 

Quelanhubeches,  25. 

Quevenes,  23. 

Quinets,  25. 

Quitoles,  23. 

Reduplication,  90. 

Refugio,  mission,  28,  46. 

Religion,  18,  24,  71. 

Rio  Grande  and  tribes  upon  it,  26, 
27,  29  (Note),  37-39,  41,  42, 
49-51,  53. 

Salle,  Robert  Cavelier  de  la,  23,  25. 
Sallie  Washington,  79,  80. 

San  Antonio  de  Bejar,  25.  26,  35, 
38 

St.  Bernard  bay,  25,  26,  35,  41,  54. 
St.  Louis  bay,  23,  25,  41. 

Sanipaos,  38. 

Settlements  or  haunts  of  Karankawa 
Indians,  16,  26,  28,  45-51,  and 

map. 


Shetimasha,  43,  98.  , 

Shoshonian  family,  33,  41. 

Sibley,  Dr.,  36,  45,  55,  70. 

Snake  Indians,  41. 

Songs,  18,  81. 

Suffixes,  93,  94. 

Syntax,  92,  93. 

Tacames,  38. 

Tamaulipas,  38,  39,  49,  50;  see  also 
Rio  Grande, 

Tampacuas,  44,  50,  51. 

Tattooing,  19,  63. 

Tawakaros,  27,  33. 

Texan  littoral,  Indian  tribes  of, 
33-42. 

Texas,  state,  33-42,  50,  51. 

Texas  (or  Tejas)  tribes,  40. 
Tilijayas,  38. 

Tinne  family,  40,  41. 

Tltskan  watitch,  37. 

Tonkawe,  27,  29,  33,  36,  37,  42,  43, 
44,  70;  language,  95-98. 
Trespalacios  bay,  15,  45,  47,  48,  54, 
55. 

Tribal  government,  64. 

Trinidad  river,  40. 

Venados,  38. 

Verbal  inflection,  91,  92. 

Vidayos ;  see  Bidai. 

Vocabulary  of  Mrs.  Oliver,  73-78. 
Vocabulary  of  Old  Simon  and  Sallie 
Washington,  79,  80. 

V  ocabulary,  Englisli-Karaukawa, 

83-86. 

Weepers,  34,  35. 

Weko  (Hueco,  Waco),  33,  36,  39. 
Wichita  tribe,  27,  33,  159. 

Wrestlers,  44  (and Note),  79. 

Xaranames,  79,  99;  cf.  Aranamas. 

Yakwal,  37. 

Yiitassi,  40. 

Yoakum,  historian,  30,  45. 


167 


ARCHEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MUSEUM. 

—  Harvard  University  — 

Vol.  I.  No.  3. 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


OF  THE 


ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


BY 

ZBLIA  NUTTALL, 

Special  Assistant  of  the  Peabody  Museum. 


WITH  THREE  PLATES. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY. 
1891. 


PRINTED  BY 


THE  SALEM  PRESS  PUBLISHING  AND  PRINTING  CO. 
SALEM,  MASS. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


All  who  have  read  Mrs.  Nuttall’s  memoir  on  "An  Ancient 
Mexican  Head-dress,”  published  as  No.  1  of  the  Museum  Pa¬ 
pers  in  1888,  will  be  specially  interested  in  this  second  num¬ 
ber  of  her  series  of  essays  illustrating  the  life  and  customs 
of  the  ancient  Mexicans.  Mrs.  Nuttall’s  knowledge  of  the 
Nahuatl  language  and  her  familiarity  with  the  original  sources 
of  information  relating  to  Mexico,  together  with  her  excep¬ 
tional  opportunities  for  investigation  during  several  periods 
of  residence  in  Mexico  as  well  as  in  various  European  cities, 
give  to  all  she  writes  the  stamp  of  authority ;  while  her 
painstaking  and  thoroughness  of  investigation  are  apparent 
upon  every  page.  It  is  therefore  with  great  satisfaction  that 
this  second  essay  is  published  by  the  Museum,  and  the  state¬ 
ment  made  that  it  will  soon  be  followed  by  another  of  the 
series. 

The  manuscript  here  printed  was  received  from  the  author 
in  the  summer  of  1890,  and  an  abstract  of  the  paper  was 
read  before  the  Anthropological  Section  of  the  American  As¬ 
sociation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  at  the  Indianapolis 
Meeting  on  August  25,  1890,  and  is  printed  in  the  Proceed¬ 
ings  of  the  Meeting.  The  drawings  illustrating  the  present 
paper  were  made  under  the  author’s  direction  in  Dresden, 
and  are  here  reproduced  by  the  photographic  process. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  of  the  Museum. 

Cambridge,  Mass., 

September  24,  1890. 


171 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER  USED  BY 
THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


My  interest  in  the  spear-thrower  per  se  was  first  aroused  by  the 
perusal  of  Prof.  Otis  T.  Mason’s  important  monograph  “On  the 
Throwing-sticks  in  the  National  Museum,”  published  in  Part  II  of 
Smithsonian  Report  for  1884.  Dr.  Max  Uhle’s  valuable  contri¬ 
bution  on  the  spear-throwers  used  b}y  American  tribes1  directed  my 
attention  to  the  existence  of  the  ancient  Mexican  atlatl,  and  thus 
gave  the  direct  incentive  to  an  investigation,  begun  in  October, 
1887,  the  results  of  which  I  now  offer  as  a  sequence  to  the  above 
publications.2 

As  will  be  seen,  the  statements  about  the  atlatl  made  by  the 
best  known  modern  authorities  on  Ancient  Mexico,  are  scarcely 
of  a  nature  to  encourage  research  with  any  prospect  of  success. 
Thus  Dr.  E.  B.  Tylor  (Primitive  Culture,  1873),  after  making  the 
interesting  observation  that  “the  Aztec  civilisation  is  the  highest 
known  to  have  used  the  spear-thrower,  in  reality  a  weapon  of  sav¬ 
agery,”  proceeds  to  state  that  “we  do  not  hear  of  the  atlatl  being 
in  practical  use  at  the  Conquest,  when  it  had  apparently  fallen  into 
disuse.”  Other  writers,  as  we  shall  see,  have  expressed  a  similar 
opinion.  Mr.  Ad.  F.  Bandelier3  went  so  far  as  to  appear  to  doubt 
its  existence  and  habitual  use  in  warfare  though  he  states  that  Prof. 
F.  W.  Putnam  had  identified  the  Mexican  atlatl  with  the  throwing- 
stick  of  the  Aleutians. 

1  Ueber  die  Wurfholzer  der  Indianer  Amerikas,  Dr.  Max  Uhle.  Mittheilungen  der 
Anthrop.  Gesellseliaft.  Wien,  1887. 

2  As  Dr.  Max  Uhle  in  a  communication  dated  Nov.  3, 1887,  informed  me  that  he  had 
then  discovered  or  identified  a  number  of  representations  of  atlatl  in  the  Mexican  and 
Maya  codices  contained  in  Kingsborough’s  work,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  able  eth¬ 
nologist  has  continued  to  study  the  atlatl,  and  will  impart  before  long  the  results  of  his 
labor. 

3Art  of  War  and  Warfare  of  Ancient  Mexicans.  Tenth  annual  report  of  the  Peabody 
Museum,  Cambridge,  1877,  page  105,  Note  37. 


173 


6 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft1  says  that,  although  “some  writers  mention 
a  ballesta,  a  sort  of  cross-bow,  to  launch  the  javelin,  he  had  not 
found  any  description  of  its  form  or  the  manner  of  using  it.”  This 
writer  adds  however  :  “it  may  be  that  this  ballesta  was  a  somewhat 
similar  implement  to  that  used  by  the  Aleutians  and  Isthmians.” 
Senor  Orozco  y  Berra,  the  learned  Mexican  historian,  frankly  con¬ 
fessed  that  the  structure  of  the  atlatl  was  unknown  to  him.9  His 
compatriot,  Senor  Alfredo  Chavero,  recognized,  however,  its  use  and 
even  made  an  inference  as  to  its  construction,  based  on  its  known 
representations  in  the  Vatican  and  Aubin  Codices.3  Professor  Val- 
entini4  recognizes  the  existence  of  the  atlatl  and  its  use  by  the  Indi¬ 
ans  in  Mexico,  but  comments  how  surprising  it  is  “that  no  express 
notice  of  it  was  taken  by  the  chroniclers  and  especially  that  Cor¬ 
tes  and  Bernal  Diaz,  two  experts  in  Mexican  warfare  and  careful 
reporters,  passed  in  absolute  silence  over  the  peculiar  contrivance 
which  they  needs  must  have  seen  in  the  hands  of  their  opponents 
and  which,  for  various  reasons,  could  not  have  failed  to  attract 
their  notice.” 

After  reading  these  statements  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  there 
existed  in  the  old  Spanish  Chronicles,  a  number  of  scattered  no¬ 
tices  establishing,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  general  use  and  important 
role  performed  by  the  atlatl  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  The 
next  step  was  to  refer  to  several  well-known  pictures  of  the  atlatl, 
contained  in  the  Vatican,  Telleriano-Remensis  and  Aubin  Codices, 
authenticated  as  such  by  contemporary  texts.  Familiarity  with 
these  enabled  me  to  recognize  an  unexpectedly  large  number  of 
representations  of  the  atlatl  in  other  Codices  and,  what  is  more 
important,  to  identify  it  as  the  hitherto  unknown  weapon  held  by 
the  sculptured  warriors  on  the  so-called  Sacrificial  Stone  of  Mexico 
and  on  bas-reliefs  of  Chichen-Itza,  Yucatan.  These  carved  repre¬ 
sentations,  and  the  colored  pictures  in  the  Codices  are  so  minutely 
and  carefully  executed  and  so  clear]}7  reveal  both  structure  and 
method  of  use  that  they  fully  compensate  for  lack  of  detail  con¬ 
cerning  these  points  in  the  Spanish  Chronicles.  Indirect  evidence 
and  finally  the  Nahuatl  text  of  Sahagun’s  invaluable  Manuscript 
Historia,  which  I  had  occasion  to  study  in  Florence  this  winter, 

1  Native  Races,  vol.  n,  p.  410. 

2  Historia  Antigua  <1e  Mexico,  vol.  I,  p.  240. 

3  Mexico  atraves  de  los  Siglos,  p.  615. 

«Two  Mexican  Chalcliiluiites.  Proceedings  of  the  Am.  Antiquarian  Society,  1881, 
174 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


7 


contributed  to  reveal  a  complete  view  of  the  curious  evolution  of 
the  spear-thrower  in  Ancient  Mexico. 

We  seem  to  see  the  native  huntsman  using  it,  in  its  simple,  prim¬ 
itive  form,  to  launch  the  harpoon  at  the  flsli  and  aquatic  fowl  of 
his  native  lagoons  or  hurl  it  in  savage  warfare  at  his  enemy.  In 
numerous  pictures  we  find  it  exhibiting  elaborate  decorations,  cu¬ 
rious  conventional  forms,  and  serving  as  a  mark  of  chieftainship 
and  priestly  rank.  We  finally  recognize  ceremonial  forms  of  the 
atiatl  in  the  hands  of  Aztec  deities  and  in  the  precious  emblem 
borne  aloft  in  certain  religious  processions.  The  following  data 
prove,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  atiatl  was  in  general  use,  in  each 
of  these  forms,  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  although  it  soon  fell 
into  disuse  and  became  extinct. 

To  the  Aztec  mind  the  origin  of  the  atiatl  and  spear  was  by  no 
means  shrouded  in  obscurity,  but  was  accounted  for  by  several 
myths  and  traditions.  One  of  these  is  preserved  in  a  Manuscript 
History  written  in  Mexico  in  1576. 1  The  Nalmatl  text  relates  that 
the  Aztecs,  during  their  migration,  in  the  year  5  Cane,  reached  a 
locality  which  they  subsequently  named  Atlacuihuayan  in  com¬ 
memoration  of  the  fact  that  whilst  there,  they  invented  the  atiatl 
and  yaomitl  =  war-arrow,  or  spear.  The  name  Atlacuihuayan  in 
this  manuscript  is  ideographically  expressed  by  the  picture  of  an 
atiatl  on  which  a  dart  rests.  (See  PI.  iii,  6.)  In  the  “Mexican 
Hieroglyphic  Manuscript  from  the  Boturini  collection2  the  same  lo¬ 
cal^  is  designated  by  the  rebus  of  a  hand  holding  an  atiatl.  (See 
PI.  iii,  26.) 

Notwithstanding  these  seeming  corroborations,  there  are  strong 
reasons  to  believe  that  the  localized  invention  of  the  atiatl  had  ab¬ 
solutely  nothing  to  do  with  the  origin  of  the  name  Atlacuihuayan. 
Indeed,  the  probability  seems  to  be  that  this  part  of  the  tradition 
took  its  rise  from  the  circumstance  that  an  atiatl  was  occasionally 
painted  as  the  hieroglyph  of  the  town.  But  it  could  have  been 
thus  employed  for  its  phonetic  elements  only.  In  other  MSS.3 
we  find  the  same  name  equally  well  expressed  by  a  rebus  consist- 

1  This  MS.  has  been  published  in  facsimile  by  J.  Desportes,  Paris.  For  further  men¬ 
tion  of  this  tradition  see  Duran,  Historia,  i,  p.  31;  Orozco  y  Berra,  op.  cit.  i,  240;  A. 
Chavero,  op.  cit.  and  others. 

2  Mexican  Antiquities,  Lord  Kingsborough,  vol.l. 

3  See  Orozco  y  Berra,  Atlas  to  Historia  and  Antonio  Penafiel:  Nombres  Geograficos 
de  Mexico,  Mexico,  1885. 


175 


8 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


ing  of  a  jug  from  which  water  is  overflowing.1  On  the  whole, 
however,  the  above  tradition  merits  respectful  consideration  and  is 
of  unusual  importance  and  interest  when  compared  with  further 
testimony  yielded  by  the  pictorial  accounts  of  the  Aztec  migra¬ 
tion.  In  each  of  the  MSS.  mentioned  above  and  in  Padre  Du¬ 
ran’s  Atlas  the  Aztecs  are  pictured  as  starting  on  their  migration 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows  only.  Now,  our  tradition  merely 
makes  the  plausible  statement  that  when  the  Aztecs  reached  the 
Valley  of  Mexico  and  were  forced  to  seek  their  food  in  the  lagoons 
which  abounded  in  fish  and  fowl,  they  naturally  adopted  the  most 
practical  instrument  for  aquatic  chase.  This  was  the  atlatl  and 
its  inseparable  adjunct  the  harpoon  or  spear. 

A  second  tradition  recorded  by  Padre  Sahagun2  relates  that  it 
was  Opochtli  —  a  simple  mortal  though  called  a  god,  who  had  in¬ 
vented  the  harpoon  and  taught  its  use  to  the  Mexicans,  as  well  as 
that  of  oars,  fishing-nets  and  bird  snares.  His  inventing  the  har¬ 
poon  seems  to  explain  why  Opochtli  was  also  Amimitl,  for  this 
name  literally  means  :  water-arrows  =  harpoons. 

But  the  use  of  the  spear  in  warfare  was  supposed  to  have  been 
taught  by  Iluitzilopochtli,  the  hero  war-god.  A  well-known  myth, 
to  which  1  will  revert,  relates  that  he  had  come  to  life  ready  for 
warfare,  “armed  with  a  spear,  an  atlatl  and  a  shield.”  A  tradi¬ 
tion,  as  recorded  by  Torquemada,3  tells  that  it  was  this  Indian 
Mars  who  incited  the  Mexicans  to  battle  and  had  given  them  the 
weapons  with  which  they  fought,  namely,  the  long  spears  made  of 
cane  stalks  and  tipped  with  obsidian,  which  they  threw  with  a  cer¬ 
tain  implement  called  “  atlatl.”  It  is  noteworthy  that,  in  the  above 


1  This  rebus  has  been  analyzed  as  meaning  “  the  place  whence  water  is  fetched.” 
That  the  first  syllable  of  Atlacuihuayan  is  atl,  water,  is  proven  by  the  fact  that,  in 

Carochi’s  Grammar,  this  name  is  printed  with  an  accent  on  the  first  syllable. 

This  would  connect  Atlacuihuayan  with  the  verb  “  atlacui”  =  to  draw  water  from  a 
well ;  and  with  the  nouns,  atlacuiuani  =  water-bucket,  and  atlacuic  —  water-carrier. 

In  the  invaluable  old  map  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  recently  discovered  in  the  Univer¬ 
sity  Library  at  Upsala,  Sweden,  1  had  occasion  to  note  that  the  partially  corrupted  name 
Atlacubaya,  written  in  Spanish  text,  is  accompanied  by  a  jug  with  overflowing  water. 

Bnschmann  (Uber  Aztekische  Ortsnamen,  p.  25),  gives  the  original  name  of  Tacit- 
baya  as  Atlauhcoloayan  and  refers  to  Bezerra  Tauco  as  his  authority.  This  name 
would  signify  ‘-place  of  the  winding  brook.”  Topographical  testimony  seems  to  cor¬ 
roborate  this  etymology— for  in  the  above  map  the  town,  represented  as  a  group  of 
houses  and  a  steepled  church,  is  painted  as  bounded  on  three  sides  by  a  winding  stream 
which  describes  several  unusually  deep  curves  during  its  comparatively  brief  course. 

2  Historia  de  las  cosas  de  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  I,  cap.  xvil. 

3  Monarquia  Indiana,  Madrid,  1723. 

176 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


9 


traditions,  absolutely  no  mention  is  made  of  the  maquauitl  or  ob¬ 
sidian  sword,  or  of  the  lance  —  nor  are  there  any  traditional  ac¬ 
counts  of  their  origin.  Although  these  were  in  general  use  we  are 
told  by  the  high  authority  Herrera1  that  “the  spear  was  the  weap¬ 
on  most  dreaded  by  the  Spaniards.”  Its  use  and  deadly  effect 
have,  in  fact,  been  recorded  in  at  least  a  few  words  by  each  of  the 
old  Spanish  chroniclers. 

Cortes  relates  how  the  inhabitants  of  a  certain  village  attacked 
his  soldiers  “  throwing  many  spears  and  arrows  at  them.”2 

Bernal  Diaz  mentions  how,  in  the  Spaniards’  first  battle  with  the 
Tlaxcallans,  the  ground  was  strewn  with  innumerable  spears  (varas) 
all  with  two  barbs.  “  These,”  he  adds,  “  could  traverse  any  sort  of 
armor  and  against  them  there  were  no  means  of  protection.”3 

The  brave  old  soldier  records  later  (p.  46) ,  how  “  the  Tlaxcal¬ 
lans  had  thrown,  with  throwers ,  spears  armed  with  one  or  two 
barbs”  and  in  describing  what  he  saw  in  Montezuma’s  arsenal  (p. 
67),  he  again  mentions:  “spears,  some  with  two  and  some  with 
one  point,  and  their  throwers .” 

The  Anonymous  Conqueror4  describes  “  spears  thrown  by  a 
cross-bow  made  of  another  piece  of  wood.  These  spears  were  tipped 
with  obsidian  or  with  very  sharp,  strong  fish  bones.  Some  had 
three  points  and  inflicted  three  wounds  at  once.” 

Ixtlilxochitl  terms  the  spear,  lanza  arrojadiza,  whereas  Padre 
Duran5  names  it  fisga  or  vara  arrojadiza,  literally  “  spear  which 
was  thrown”  and  characterizes  it  as  “  a  very  dangerous  weapon, 
because,  on  account  of  its  barbed  hooks  like  those  of  a  harpoon,  it 
cannot  be  removed  without  making  a  large  wound  —  unless  it  can 
be  taken  out  at  the  opposite  side.” 

Torquemada6  states  that  a  battle  was  usually  opened  by  a  vol¬ 
ley  of  “  spears  thrown  by  means  of  a  shuttle  (jugadera),  with  great 
strength  and  velocity.”  Mendieta?  makes  the  same  statement  in 
the  same  words. 

Padre  Saliagun8  distinctly  mentions  that  “  the  instrument  with 
which  spears  were  thrown  was  called  atlatl” 

1  Historia  General,  Madrid,  1601,  vol.  I,  p.  185. 

2  Historia  de  Nueva  Espana,  ed.  Lorenzana,  p.  51. 

3  Historia  Verdadera  de  la  Conquista,  Madrid,  1632,  p.  45. 

4  Ed.  Icazbalceta,  Mexico,  1858,  p.  372. 

6  Historia  de  las  Indias,  Mexico,  1867  and  1880,  vol.  i,  p.  121. 

6  Op.  cit.,  II,  539. 

7  Historia  Ecclesiastica,  Mexico,  1870,  p. 

8  Historia  de  Nueva  Espana, lib.  n,  cap.  29. 

P.  M.  PAPERS  I.  12 


177 


10 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR  THROWER 


Fray  Diego  de  Landa1  tells  us  that  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan 
had  learned  the  use  of  weapons  and  the  art  of  warfare  from  the 
Mexicans  and  that  they  had  “a  certain  way  of  throwing  spears  by 
means  of  a  stick,  about  3  fingers  thick  and  6  palmos  (about  18 
inches)  long,  which  stick  was  perforated  at  one-third  of  its  length 
and  with  it  and  certain  cords,  the  Indians  threw  with  strength  and 
certain  aim.” 

Finally  Tezozomoc2  in  his  graphic  description  of  the  military  drill 
performed  by  the  Tlatelulcan  warriors  preparatory  to  their  rebel¬ 
lion  against  Mexican  supremacy,  specifies  their  use  of ‘‘sticks  har¬ 
dened  by  fire”  (varas  tostadas)  called  tlatzontectli ,  and  spears  called 
minacachalli.  The  latter  had  three  points,  he  says,  and  “  were 
thrown  by  means  of  a  stick  nine  inches  long,  called  atlatl,  which 
atlatl  was  the  thrower  —  arrojadero,'  of  the  minacachalli.” 

Now  Sahagun(op.  et  loc.  cit.) distinctly  states  that  the  harpoon  for 
killing  fish  invented  by  Opochtli  was  named  minacachalli.  It  is 
interesting  therefore  to  actually  find  Tezozomoc  recording  how  the 
Tlatilulcans  were  ordered  out  in  canoes,  by  their  chief,  to  practise 
throwing  their  minacachalli  at  flying  ducks  preparatory  to  using 
them,  in  battle  against  their  enemy.  This  double  use  for  the  har¬ 
poon  or  spear  satisfactorily  explains  the  somewhat  puzzling  use, 
recorded  by  Clavigero  and  after  him  by  other  writers3  of  a  cord  at¬ 
tached  to  the  spear  and  fastened  to  the  arm  of  the  individual  using 
it.  Clavigero,  who  is  by  no  means  a  first  rate  authority,  but  has 
enjoyed  popularity,  explains  that  the  cord  was  used  for  pulling  the 
spear  out  after  inflicting  a  wound.  Now  in  warfare  a  firm  bond 
connecting  a  man  with  his  wounded  and  infuriated  foe  would  have 
obvious  inconveniences,  especially  if  the  barbed  spears  were  as 
difficult  to  remove  as  we  have  been  told  they  were.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  aquatic  chase  such  a  cord  would  fulfil  the  important  and  use¬ 
ful  purpose  of  securing  prey  and  preventing  the  loss  of  the  harpoon. 
I  am  therefore  inclined  to  agree  with  Senor  Orozco  y  Berra  who 
expressed  his  belief  {op.  et  loc.  cit.)  that  Clavigero  was  uncon¬ 
sciously  referring  to  harpoons  as  used  for  killing  fish  and  not  as 
used  in  warfare,  in  the  above  passage  which  lacks,  moreover,  the 
support  of  other  evidence. 

1  Relacion  de  las  cosas  de  Yucatan,  ed.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  p.  46. 

2  Cronica  Mexicana,  Mexico,  1S73,  p.  376. 

2  Historia  Antigua,  ed.  Mora,  Mexico,  1S44,  p.  217.  cf.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  hi,  p.594;  H.  II.  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  ir,  p.410;  A.  Bandelier,  op.  cit.  p.  105; 
and  others. 


178 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


11 


Now  the  use  by  the  ancient  Mexican  of  an  amiento  or  strap  for 
the  purpose  of  throwing  the  spear  has  been  stated,  in  contradiction 
to  the  mass  of  evidence,  by  a  few  old  Spanish  writers  whose  words 
have  been  quoted  by  some  modern  authorities.  In  Molina’s  dic¬ 
tionary  we  actually  find  the  word  atlatl  translated  by  amiento ,  one 
of  several  Spanish  words  for  strap.  Only  a  prolonged  search  has 
enabled  me  to  find  the  explanation  of  the  strikingly  inappropriate 
use  of  the  term  “strap”  for  a  wooden  throwing-stick.  The  explana¬ 
tion  is  as  follows  :  and  though  it  may  seem,  as  I  hope  it  will,  very 
simple  and  evident,  I  can  affirm  that  it  was  most  difficult  and  per¬ 
plexing  to  find. 

I  have  already  stated  that  Bernal  Diaz  mentioned  spears  which 
the  Indians  “  threw  with  throwers.”  He  uses  the  expression  tirar 
con  t  trader  as  and  it  is  evident  that  by  tivadera  he  merely  meant 
to  express  the  verbal  noun  of  the  verb  tirar  which  he  used  imme¬ 
diately  before,  to  describe  the  action.  He  employed  the  expression 
tirar  con  tiradera  in  precisely  the  same  way  and  with  the  same 
signification  as  Torquemada  and  Tezozomoc  respectively  wrote, 
jugar  conjvgadera  and  arrojar  .  .  .  con  arrojadera.  Each  of  these 
old  Spanish  contemporaries  thus  described  in  synonymous  verbs 
and  verbal  nouns  the  action,  to  throw  (a  spear)  with  a  thrower. 

Now  the  word  jugadera,  from  its  original  meaning  of  “thrower’ 
has  come  to  be  the  specific  name  for  a  certain  kind  of  “thrower:” 
a  shuttle.  The  word  tiradera,  though  it  simply  meant  “thrower  ” 
and  was  employed  in  this  sense,  as  will  be  shown  further  on,  by 
others  than  Bernal  Diaz,  was  also  used  by  some  old  writers  for 
the  thing  thrown,  namely,  the  spear,  sometimes  termed  “  vara 
arrojadi§a.”  Tiradera ,  however,  also  meant  strap  and  was  there¬ 
fore  synonymous  with  amiento ,  the  more  general  term  for  strap, 
though  its  application  is  usually  limited  to  that  strap  used  to  fas¬ 
ten  the  helmet  under  the  chin. 

The  chronicler  and  compiler  Herrera ,  who,  I  believe,  never  left 
Spain,  but  is  known  to  have  consulted  the  MS.  History  of  the  Con¬ 
quest  written  by  Bernal  Diaz,  evidently  came  across  the  word 
tiradera  and,  having  no  practical  knowledge  of  Mexican  spears  and 
their  throwers,  inferred  that  a  tiradera  was  an  amiento.  And  thus 
we  find  him  recording1  that  the  same  Tlaxcallans  whom  Bernal  Diaz 
had  seen,  “carried  spears  with  amientos  which  they  threw  with  such 
force  as  to  cleave  a  door.” 


1  Op.  cit.  Dec.  II.,  lib.  VI,  cap.  VI. 


179 


12 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


Having  once  been  admitted  and  employed  in  connection  with 
Mexican  spears,  the  word  amiento ,  the  false  substitute  for  tiraclera, 
asserted  itself  and  with  the  recognized  vitality  and  success  of  er¬ 
rors  found  its  way  into  a  series  of  books.  But  its  falsity  and  ab¬ 
solute  inappropriateness  are  often  evident.  Just  see,  for  instance, 
how  the  writer  of  the  Italian  text  to  the  Vatican  Codex1  retains 
this  Spanish  word  and,  in  describing  the  picture  of  a  warrior  on 
PI.  lxxxi,  says  :  “that  which  is  held  in  the  right  hand  is  an  ami¬ 
ento  [strap  /]  made  of  wood ,  with  which  the}r  throw  a  spear  with 
great  force.”  The  English  translator  of  the  same  text2  rather  clev¬ 
erly  translated  this  as  a  lcind  of  roooden  sling.  On  referring  to  the 
picture  we  find  a  substantial,  well-drawn  atlatl  in  the  warrior’s 
hand  (PI.  hi,  16). 

Again  notice  how  Padre  Duran’s  use  of  the  word  is  proven  to 
be  wrong  by  his  own  illustration.  He  relates  that  “a  certain  im¬ 
age  .  .  .  held,  with  a  threatening  gesture,  a  spear  which  was  set 
in  an  amiento.”  Examining  the  picture  of  this  image  in  his  Atlas 
we  find  the  spear,  not  set  into  a  strap  but  distinctly  lying  on  an 
atlatl  of  well-known  form,  made  of  a  recurved  piece  of  wood  pro¬ 
vided  with  lateral  finger-pegs. 

The  Aztec  word  atlatl  or  atlatli,  as  it  is  sometimes  found  writ¬ 
ten,  is  intimately  connected  with  the  verb  tlaca=zto  aim,  to  throw 
or  cast  (Spanish  :  tirar ).,  the  frequentative  of  which  is  tlatlatja. 

From  this  verb  a  whole  series  of  words  is  formed  : 

tlatla^aliztli  =  the  act  of  throwing,  etc. 

tlatlatjalli  \ 

ortlatlaxtli  >  the  object  thrown. 

tlatlaztli  1 

tlatla^ani  =  the  thrower. 

Now  we  also  find  the  verbs  atlauia  and  atlacopa  or  atlatica  nitl- 
. amina ,  meaning:  to  throw  a  dart  with  an  atlatl. 

Considering  that  the  original  use  of  the  atlatl  was  in  aquatic 
chase  by  the  atlacatl  or  fishermen,  whose  name  is  a  s3-nthesis  of 
atl  —  water  and  tlacatl  =  men,  I  venture  the  suggestion  that  the  word 
atlatl  may  primarily  have  been  a  synthesis  formed  with  the  verbal 
noun  tlatla^ani  =  thrower  and  atl  =  water.  This  would  give  the 
word  atlatlagani ,  meaning  “  water-thrower,”  not  an  unfit  name  for 

1  Lord  Kingsborough,  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  v. 

5  Lord  Kingsborough,  Mexican  Antiquities,  vol.  vi. 

180 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


13 


the  harpoon- thrower  of  the  water-men.  However,  this  is,  as  I  said, 
a  suggestion  only',  and  I  refer  the  question  of  the  exact  derivation 
of  “atlatl”  to  the  consideration  of  Mexican  philologists. 

Let  us  now  review  the  scattered  testimony  I  have  brought  to¬ 
gether  from  the  writings  of  the  highest  authorities  on  Ancient 
Mexico.  It  proves  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  spear,  thrown  by  a 
wooden  atlatl,  was  not  only  in  general  use  at  the  time  of  the  Con¬ 
quest,  but  was  acknowledged  byr  the  Spaniards  to  have  been  the 
most  effectual  weapon  of  the  Aztecs. 

These,  it  seems,  had  only  adopted  it  and  acquired  proficiency  in 
its  use  from  the  time  they  took  up  their  abode  in  the  Valley  of 
Mexico  where  they  found  themselves  forced  to  resort  to  aquatic 
chase.  Up  to  that  time  their  chief  arm  had  been  the  bow  and  arrow 
just  as,  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  it  was  that  of  the  Chichimecs, 
of  the  Mountain  Indians  and  of  those  tribes  that  dwelt  inland  and 
hunted  chiefly  birds  and  small  game.1 

Doubtless  the  people  inhabiting  the  coast  regions  originally  used 
the  harpoon  for  fishing  and  occasionally  in  savage  warfare,  just  as 
the  Aztecs  did.  But  this  tribe  of  fierce  warriors  and  conquerors 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  create  a  purely  military  and  a  cer¬ 
emonial  form  of  atlatl. 

What  the  Mexican  spear-thrower  was  like  when  it  had  reached 
its  utmost  development  can  best  be  learnt  by  examination  of  its 
numerous  representations  in  sculpture  and  in  the  Codices,  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  which  are  contained  in  Lord  Kingsborough’s  monumental 
work,  for  the  three  specimens  of  genuine  Ancient  Mexican  atlatl 
preserved  respectively  in  Rome,  Berlin  and  London,  and  to  which  I 
shall  refer  more  particularly,  are  comparatively  simple  and  incom¬ 
plete. 

A  first  glance  at  the  strange  and  complex  figures  on  Plates  n 
and  hi  may  somewhat  nonplus  the  beholder.  When  he  observes 
their  variety  and  actually  finds  that  there  are  no  two  specimens 
exactly  alike,  even  among  many  taken  from  the  same  Codex,  he 
may  well  be  tempted  to  inquire :  how  can  one  determine  that  these 

are  all  atlatl?  It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  that,  when  a  native 

1  * 

1  ‘‘The  Chichimecs  ....  were  always  armed  with  how  and  arrow  so  as  to  he  always 
ready  to  hunt,”  Sah.,  op.  cit.  lih.  x,  cap.  xxix;  cf.  Bernal  Diaz,  op.  cit.  p.  74.  The  bow 
and  arrow  is  also  recorded  as  the  principal  arm  of  the  inhabitants  of  Michoacan,  Orozco 
y  Berra,  op.  cit.  II,  pp  5B9,  594. 


181 


14 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


artist  pictured  a  warrior  or  deity  with  an  atlatl  in  one  hand,  he 
generally  painted  one  or  more  spears,  a  shield  and  a  banner  in  the 
other.  These  together  constituted  the  complete  accoutrement  of 
one  grade  of  war-chiefs.  Now  it  sometimes  happened  that  he 
omitted  one  or  the  other  of  these;  but,  as  will  be  seen  by  referring 
to  my  index  to  Plates  11  and  in  it  is  an  exceptional  case  when  an 
atlatl  is  not  accompanied  by  some  other  part  of  military  armor. 

In  cases  of  doubtful  looking  atlatl  the  presence  of  the  spear, 
as  an  accessory,  may  be  adopted  as  a  convincing  proof  of  a  cor¬ 
rect  identification.  On  the  other  hand,  the  absence  of  the  spear 
does  not  constitute  disproof.  Indeed  had  I  excluded  all  atlatl  pic¬ 
tured  without  accessory  spears,  from  my  illustrations,  I  should  have 
been  obliged,  strange  to  say,  to  reject  some  of  the  most  important 
representations  of  atlatl  we  have ;  important  because  of  the  few 
whose  authenticity  is  established  by  the  contemporary  texts  of  the 
Codices  containing  them. 

On  Plate  32  of  the  Vatican  Codex  A  a  personage  is  painted  with 
what  the  text  terms  a  “blue  atlatl”  in  his  right  hand  (PI.  nr,  1). 
His  left  hand  is  empty  and  he  is  not  in  strictly  military  costume. 

On  Plates  81  and  82  of  the  same  Codex,  war-chiefs  are  pictured 
holding  an  atlatl  (PI.  iii,  1G  and  17)  in  one  hand  and  a  shield  and 
banner  only  in  the  other.  1  have  already  quoted  the  text  describing 
one  of  these  atlatl  as  “  a  kind  of  wooden  sling.”  These  cases 
prove  that  a  genuine  picture  of  an  atlatl  is  not  invariably  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  spear  or  even  by  other  parts  of  military  armor. 

Let  us  examine  the  few  other  atlatl  identified  as  such  by  contem¬ 
porary  texts. 

PI.  m,  2,  from  the  Vatican  Codex  A,  is  described  as  “a  certain 
sort  of  arm  as  a  bow ;”  22,  from  the  same  source  is  termed  “a  cer¬ 
tain  weapon  which  they  name  Xiuatlatli  (literally  “blue  atlatl”)  ; 
10  is  merely  named  “  Xiuhatlatli  ”  in  the  text  to  the  Telleriano- 
Remensis  Codex.  Leaving  these  “described  and  labelled  ”  spec¬ 
imens  let  us  pass  on  to  those  for  whose  identification,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  I  alone  am  responsible. 

I  have  endeavored  to  classify  my  collection  of  atlatl  and  divided 
them  into  two  classes. 

Class  I  answers  to  Fray  Diego  de  Lauda’s  description  being 
usually  provided  with  one  or  more  finger  holes  at  about  one-third 
of  its  length.  It  includes  : 

182 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


15 


1,  atlatl  with  a  single  large  circular  finger  hole.  Type  specimens , 
PI.  ii,  1  and  20. 

la,  ?  atlatl  with  a  double  hole.  Unique  specimen ,  PI.  ii,  9. 

2,  atlatl  with  two  small  holes  in  the  body  of  the  implement.  Type 
specimens ,  PI.  i,  4,  and  PI.  ii,  15. 

2a  ?,  atlatl  with  three  holes  in  the  body  of  the  implement.  Unique 
specimen ,  PI.  ii,  16. 

3,  atlatl  with  two  lateral  rings  attached  externally.  Type  speci¬ 
mens,  PI.  ii,  6,  and  3,  6;  also  the  three  existing  specimens  of  atlatl. 

Class  II  is  distinguished  by  being  provided  with  lateral  finger 
pegs  placed  exactly  opposite  to  each  other  instead  of  holes  or  rings. 
Type  specimens,  PI.  iii,  26,  30-33;  cf.  16  and  17. 

Let  us  take  a  rapid  survey  of  Class  I. 

1.  In  the  hands  of  sculptured  warriors,  PI.  i,  1  to  5,  66. 

2.  In  groups  of  armor  also  carved  in  bas-relief,  PI.  ii,  3a,  36, 
6,  also  PI.  i,  6a. 

3.  In  the  Codices,  PI.  ii,  1,  2,  4,  5,  7,  20-27.  In  this  series 
we  can  first  study  the  atlatl  by  itself  (PL  ii,  3a,  36;  i,  6  and  6a), 
then  learn  by  ocular  demonstration  how  the  inOex  and  middle  fin¬ 
gers  were  inserted  into  the  hole  or  holes  whilst  the  other  fingers 
and  thumb  grasped  the  handle. 

We  have  front  views,  PI.  i,  2,  3,  66;  ii,  14,  15,  16,  and  back 
views,  PI.  i,  5  ;  ii,  1,  2,  4,  5,  7-12,  17,  of  the  hand  and  inserted 
fingers  holding  the  atlatl  ready  for  use. 

We  see  it  also  simply  grasped  by  its  handle,  PI.  i,  4  ;  ii,  21-27, 
and  finally  have  its  instantaneous  though  distorted  picture  in  the 
very  act  of  launching  the  spear,  PI.  ii,  18,  19  and  20. 

We  perceive  that  it  sometimes  is  ornamented  with  a  flat  cover¬ 
ing  of  applied  feather-work,  Pl.i,  1-66;  ii,  2,  36,  7,  10,  11,  12,  14, 
15,  22-25,  27,  covered  with  tiger  skin,  PI.  ii,  4  and  5,  carved  or 
painted  with  transverse  bars,  PI.  ii,  1,  21,  26,  adorned  with  tufts  of 
feathers,  PI.  ii,  21,  23,  24  and  27,  flexible  tassel-like  appendages, 
PI.  ii,  7,  16,  or  long  streamers,  PI.  ii,  9,  12.  We  observe  that  the 
atlatl  itself  is  general^  painted  blue  while  the  decoration  is  of 
many  colors. 

Having  learned  all  these  interesting  details  from  the  old  manu¬ 
scripts,  let  us  leave  them  for  a  moment  and  study  the  three  exist¬ 
ing  specimens  of  Ancient  Mexican  atlatl  which  have  come  under 
my  notice.  The  finest  of  these  is  in  the  Museo  Kircheriana  in 
Rome  where  I  had  the  privilege  of  examining  it  closely  in  May, 

183 


16 


THE  ATLATE  OR  SPEAR  THROWER 


1890.  The  British  Museum  specimen  ranks  next  in  excellency  of 
workmanship  and  is  moreover  the  most  complete.  It  still  retains 
one  of  the  two  finger  rings  made  of  shell,  that  were  originally  at¬ 
tached  to  its  handle.  The  third  specimen  is  at  the  Museum  fur 
Volkerkunde  in  Berlin,  where  I  saw  it  in  1888.  The  three  speci¬ 
mens  consist  alike  of  a  long  straight  piece  of  a  very  hard  and  fine¬ 
grained  wood  (zapote?).  Each  is  provided  with  a  central  “spear 
shaft  groove  ”  ending  with  a  “  hook  or  spur  ”  and  each  must  have 
'  originally  had  lateral  finger  rings,  attached  like  those  of  the  Lon¬ 
don  specimen.  I  have  much  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  cour¬ 
tesy  of  Signor  Cav.  Pigorini,  the  director  of  the  Kirclieriana  Mu¬ 
seum,  to  whom  I  am  also  indebted  for  the  following  measurements 
of  the  atlatl  in  the  Mexican  collection  : 

Total  length  ....  558  mm. 

Maximum  width  (upper  end)  .  37  mm. 

Minimum  “  lower  “  .  19  mm. 

Length  of  groove  .  .  .  492  mm. 

Maximum  width  of  groove  .  .  6  mm. 

Minimum  “  “  “  .  .  4  mm. 

This  specimen  is  ornamented  with  very  finely  and  skilfully  ex¬ 
ecuted  carvings,  in  low  relief,  of  human  figures  and  symbols.  These 
cover  both  sides  of  the  atlatl  and  extend  from  its  upper  end  to  the 
end  of  the  groove.  The  finish  and  execution  of  the  carving  though 
in  lower  relief  recalls  that  we  are  accustomed  to  see  on  Chinese 
camphor-wood  boxes.  The  outlines  of  the  figures  strikingly  re¬ 
semble  those  of  the  drawings  in  the  Vienna  Codex.  Two  stand¬ 
ing  and  four  seated  human  figures  are  carved  on  the  back  of  this 
atlatl.  On  the  front,  on  both  sides  of  the  groove,  besides  human 
figures,  I  counted  one  representation  of  a  serpent  and  no  less  than 
five  finely  carved  serpents’  heads.  (It  is  an  interesting  fact  and  one 
to  which  I  will  revert,  that  the  serpent  symbol  is  carved  on  each 
of  the  three  specimens  I  have  mentioned.)  On  the  space  between 
the  base  of  the  groove  and  the  upper  end  of  the  atlatl  a  larger  spread 
figure  of  a  warrior  (Iluitzilopochtli  ?)  is  carved.  His  head  is  so 
curiously  placed  that  it  is  a  projection  from  under  his  chin  that 
forms  the  hook  or  spur  for  launching  the  spear.  In  the  right  hand 
he  holds  what  looks  like  a  double-barbed  point  of  a  harpoon  ;  in  the 
left,  a  bundle  of  light  darts  across  which  a  serpent’s  head  is  carved. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  carving  is  covered  with  a  fine  layer  of 
purest  gold  in  fairly  good  preservation. 

184 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


17 


The  British  Museum  specimen  also  exhibits  traces  of  gilding. 
I  have  come  across  the  records  of  two  throwers  (tiraderas !)  of 
gold  which  were  sent  to  Charles  V  by  Cortes.1  The  second  one, 
described  as  “  a  thrower  of  gold  in  the  shape  of  a  bishop’s  crosier” 
(una  tiradera  de  oro  a  manerade  baculo),  was  of  massive  gold  and 
its  weight  is  given  as  368  pesos  de  oro ,  the  exact  equivalent  of  which 
in  our  weights,  I  have  not  been  able  to  determine. 

Let  us  cast  a  glance  at  the  hitherto  unrecognized  representations 
of  atlatl  on  the  bas-reliefs  of  Chichen-Itza,  Yucatan,  and  on  the 
so-called  Sacrificial  Stone  in  the  city  of  Mexico. 

In  his  publication  on  the  latter  monument  (Anales  del  Museo 
Nacional,  tomo  i,  page  31)  Senor  Orazco  y  Berra  wrote:  “  The 
weapons  held  by  the  prisoners  .  .  .  are  two  arrows  held  with  their 
points  upwards.  The  object  offered  with  the  right  hand  does  not 
represent  “  flowers,”  as  Humboldt  and  Nebel  believed,  but  is  a 
weapon,  as  Ramirez  determined.  It  is  the  sacrificial  knife,  and  is 
the  symbol  for  sacrifice.  It  is  made  of  silex  =  tecpatl,  and  not  of 
obsidian  =  itztli,  and  is  characterized  by  being  mounted  on  a  handle 
of  wood  by  which  it  was  held  so  as  to  protect  the  hand  using  it. 
It  had  a  guard  (tope),  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  prevent  it  from 
penetrating  beyond  a  certain  depth.” 

Senor  Jesus  Sanchez  (Anales  del  Museo  Nacional,  tomo  in, 
page  133)  likewise  describes  the  object  held  as  “a  certain  kind  of 
stone  knife  furnished  with  a  guard.”  Reference  to  PI.  i,  fig.  6&, 
will  convince  the  reader  that  this  weapon  is  an  atlatl,  the  comple¬ 
ment  to  the  two  spears  held  in  the  left  hand.  The  same  form  of 
atlatl  will  also  be  recognized  in  fig.  6a  below  the  shield  held  by  the 
warrior,  besides  two  spears  and  a  banner  =  macpanitl. 

Stephens  (Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  vol.  n,  page  309)  was 
the  first  to  note  the  general  resemblance  between  the  sculptured 
figures  on  the  “Sacrificial  Stone”  and  on  the  walls  of  the  chamber 
at  Chichen-Itza.  It  is  strange  that  this  careful  observer  should 
have  overlooked  the  weapon  represented  in  the  right  hand  of  the 
Chichen-Itza  warrior,  and  described  these  warriors  as  “carrying  a 
bundle  of  spears  or  a  quiver  of  arrows”  only. 

M.  Desire  Charnay  (Les  Anciennes  Villes  du  Nouveau  Monde, 
page  308)  made  a  special  note  of  the  truly  remarkable  resemblance 
between  the  carvings  of  both  monuments  and  went  so  far  as  to  state 

1  Coleccion  de  Documentos  In^ditos  del  Arcliivo  de  Indias,  tomo  12,  pp.  319  and 
352. 

P.  M.  PAPERS  I.  13 


185 


18 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


that  the  personages  on  each  carried  identical  weapons.  But  M. 
Charnay  described  the  weapon  held  in  the  right  hand  as  a  “sacred 
knife,”  and  identified  it  with  the  ceremonial  knife  made  of  painted 
wood,  mentioned  by  Sahagun  (lib.  11,  cap.  37).  The  fact  is  that 
the  resemblance  noted  by  Stephens  and  Charnay,  is  a  more  signif¬ 
icant  one  than  either  supposed.  For  both  of  these  monuments, 
widely  separated  though  they  are,  exhibit  atlatl  of  precisely  the 
same  shape,  proportion  and  decoration,  represented  as  held  in  the 
same  manner. 

This  similarity,  which  may  be  partially  studied  by  means  of 
PI.  i,  is  all  the  more  remarkable  when  contrasted  with  the  extreme 

variety  and  diversity  of  forms  of  atlatl 
observable  in  even  a  single  Codex.  And 
the  likeness  of  the  Chichen-Itza  and 
Mexican  sculptured  atlatl  is  all  the  more 
significant  as  it  coincides  with  other 
facts  which  I  will  present,  with  my  con¬ 
clusions  based  thereupon,  in  a  future 
communication. 

Visitors  to  the  National  Museum  at 
Washington  and  the  Peabody  Museum 
of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology 
at  Cambridge  can  have  the  privilege  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  these  ex¬ 
tremely  interesting  bas-reliefs  by  means 
of  their  admirable  casts  made  by  M. 
Desire  Charnay.  The  four  nearly  life- 
sized  warriors  sculptured  on  the  two 
stone  posts  of  a  doorway  in  the  building 
known  as  the  “Tennis  Court,”  in  Chichen-Itza,  are  of  special  impor¬ 
tance.  They  show  us  that  besides  several  long  light  darts,  and  an 
atlatl,  a  warrior  also  carried  a  short  heavy  spear  provided  with  a 
large  barb,  single  or  double.  This  can  be  seen  projecting  from  the 
peculiar  quivers  over  the  left  arms  of  figures  1  and  2,  PI.  i.  A 
quiver  recalling  that  of  fig.  1  and  a  large  spear  with  double  barb 
are  represented  on  page  70  of  Vatican  Codex  A.  A  warrior  holds 
these  in  one  hand  (see  fig.  1)  and  a  peculiar  atlatl  in  the  other  (PI. 
ii,  8).  I  was  struck  by  the  resemblance  of  this  double  barb  to  the 
one  in  the  hand  of  the  personage  carved  on  the  atlatl  preserved  in 
Rome.  The  fact  that  he  holds  such  a  barbed  spear  point  and  also 
186 


USED  BT  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


19 


a  bundle  of  light  darts,  leads  to  the  inference  that  the  atlatl  he  is 
carved  on  was  intended  to  launch  both  missiles.  It  is  interesting 
to  find  the  Chichen-Itza  warriors  similarly  armed.1 

Returning  now  to  the  pictures  of  atlatl  taken  from  the  Codices, 
we  find  that  the  existence  of  a  spear- shaft  groove  and  hook  could 
scarcely  be  inferred  from  the  front  views  (PI.  11,  14,  15,  16),  of 
atlatl  of  the  same  type  as  the  sculptured  ones. 

Indeed  the  only  representations  of  atlatl  I  know  of,  in  which  the 
spear-shaft  groove  and  hook  are  distinctly  visible,  are  those  carved 
on  the  bas-reliefs  of  Chichen-Itza  (PI.  i,  2,  3  and  4).  But  as  soon 
as  the  artist  began  to  make  a  drawing  of  the  atlatl  held  ready 
for  use  or  actually  launching  the  spear  he  was  forcibly  reminded 
of  the  important  role  performed  by  the  hook.  In  endeavoring  to 
reproduce  this  he  seems  to  have  sometimes  exaggerated  its  pro¬ 
portionate  size.  At  all  events,  he  drew  it  en  profile  though  re¬ 
taining  the  back  view  of  the  hand  and  of  the  finger  holes  and 
handle  of  the  atlatl  (PI.  n,  2,13,  17-20).  This  distorted  drawing 
was  evidently  adopted  as  one  of  the  conventional  ways  of  picturing 
an  atlatl,  and  it  will  be  well  to  bear  the  possibility  of  exaggeration 
and  distortion  in  mind  whilst  studying  all  pictures  in  which  the 
hook  is  visible.  It  is,  of  course,  quite  impossible  for  us  to  judge 
of  the  fidelity  with  which  the  artist  may  have  drawn  the  proportions 
of  the  hook.  The  existing  specimens  and  the  carved  reproductions 
exhibit  a  small  hook  not  rising  above  the  level  of  the  sides  of  the 
groove.  On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  find  a  prominent  hook  pictured 
in  a  variety  of  forms  and  dimensions  and  also  learn  that  the  large 
recurvation  of  one  ceremonial  form  of  atlatl  caused  this  to  be  com¬ 
pared,  by  the  Spaniards,  to  a  bishop’s  crosier. 

In  figs.  2,  13,  17,  18  and  20,  PL  n,  we  find  the  hook  or  spur 
consisting  of  a  square  projection.  In  fig.  19  this  is  modified  to  a 
point. 

Figs.  28,  29,  31-34,  PL  ii  (from  the  Maya  MS.  of  the  Dresden 
Royal  Library),  fig.  37  (from  the  Troano  MS.),  and  7,  10,  12 
and  13,  PL  hi  (from  various  Mexican  MSS.),  exhibit  a  curious 
recurvation  vaguely  recalling  the  fiddle-head  ornament  of  the 
Ungava  throwing  stick  described  by  Prof.  Otis  T.  Mason. 


1  The  curved  weapon  in  the  left  hand  of  fig.  1  is  likewise  represented  as  held  by 
the  personage  sculptured  on  the  inner  face  of  the  left  door  post  and  also  by  those  on 
columns  in  the  Castillo  de  Chichen-Itza.  Is  it  an  atlatl  like  that  engraved  ou  the  Hum¬ 
boldt  celt  (PI.  ii,  39)  ?  or  a  sort  of  a  club  ? 


187 


20 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


Fig.  34  is  unique  and  of  special  note  on  account  of  thongs  repre¬ 
sented  as  passed  through  and  hanging  from  the  atlatl.  This 
specimen  is  from  the  Dresden  Maya  MS.  and  I  refer  again  to  Fray 
Diego  de  Landa’s  statement  that  the  natives  of  Yucatan  used  “cer¬ 
tain  cords”  with  their  spear-throwers  (p.  10).  Another  unicnm, 
provided  with  a  finger-ring  (PI.  ii,  39),  is  that  engraved  on  ihe 
Humboldt  celt  and  identified  by  Prof.  Valentini.1 

Figs.  35,  36,  40,  PI.  ii  (from  the  Dresden  MS.),  fig.  38  (from 
the  Troano),  figs.  1,  2,  4  and  5,  PI.  m,  already  referred  to,  termi¬ 
nate  in  a  more  or  less  sharply  recurved  hook. 

Passing  on  to  the  atlatl  of  Class  H,  with  characteristic  finger- 
pegs,  we  find  the  same  square  projections  as  distortedly  drawn, 
PI.  in,  26,  and  the  sharp  hooks,  PI.  iii,  16,  17,  also  6,  we  have 
already  noticed  in  Class  I. 

Now  that  we  have  duly  studied  the  structure  and  practical  side 
of  the  atlatl,  let  us  investigate  the  interesting  symbolic  and  cere¬ 
monial  forms  under  which  it  reappears  as  part  of  the  paraphernalia 
of  some  of  the  principal  Aztec  deities. 

IlUITZILOPOCHTLI. 

In  the  vignettes  illustrating  the  account  of  this  hero  god’s  mirac¬ 
ulous  birth,  etc.,  contained  in  the  Laurentiana  MS.  of  Sahagun’s 
Historia  (lib.  iii,  cap.  i),  we  find  him  depicted  with  a  shield,  one  or 
more  spears  and  an  atlatl.  This  is  curiously  carved  in  the  sem¬ 
blance  of  a  serpent  and  is  provided  with  lateral  finger-pegs  (PI. 
iii,  32,  33).  The  Nahuatl  text  relates  that  it  was  blue  and  was 
named  Xiuatlatl  —  blue,  or  turquoise,  atlatl.  To  find  these  pictures 
of  Huitzilopochtli  with  an  authenticated  and  unmistakable  atlatl 
of  a  blue  color,  in  the  shape  of  a  snake,  is  a  fact  of  no  ordinary 
importance,  for  it  affords  a  clew  to  the  meaning  of  the  Nahuatl 
names  of  his  weapons  recorded  elsewhere  in  the  same  MS.  It  is 
several  times  repeated  {op.  cit.  lib.  i,  cap.  1,  and  Historia  de  la 
Conquista,  cap.  38)  that  these  consisted  of  a  xiuhcoatl  and  a  ma- 
malhnciztli.  Literally  translated,  xiuhcoatl  means  :  blue  or  (tur¬ 
quoise)  serpent.  Mamalhuaztli  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  verbal  noun 
of  the  verb  mamcdi  =  to  cleave,  to  split,  to  force  one’s  self  into  a 
crowd  of  people,  and  means  literally:  “the  splitter,  the  cleaver,” 
no  unfit  name  for  a  spear.2 

1  Two  Mexican  Chalchihuites.  Proceedings  of  the  Am.  Ant.  Soc.  April  27,  1881. 

2  I  am  aware  that  the  name  viamalliuaztli  is  generally  applied,  by  modern  writers,  to 
“the  stick  used  for  making  fire,”  although  it  is  not  to  be  found  with  this  meaning  in 

188 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


21 


Now  Huitzilopochtli  was  not  an  ideal  creation,  an  abstract  deity, 
but  a  distinguished  war-chief,  about  whose  birth  and  life  a  halo  of 
myth  and  romance  had  been  posthumously  thrown.  He  was  a  real 
personage,  “  a  vassal,  a  mortal — also  a  mighty  magician  and  a  leader 
of  battles.”  The  weapons  he  had  used  were  actually  preserved  as 
relics  and  it  was  believed  that  some  of  the  power  with  which  they 
had  once  been  wielded  had  passed  into  them.  For  it  is  recorded 
as  an  historical  fact,  that  during  the  final  terrible  struggle  of  the 
Mexicans,  in  a  time  of  direst  distress,  the  last  of  Aztec  hero- 
chiefs,  Quauhtemotzin,  ordered  the  bravest  of  his  warriors  to  take 
Huitzilopochtli’s  relics,  the  “blue  serpent”  and  “the  cleaver”  and 
venture  boldly  into  the  ranks  of  the  Spaniards,  for  he  who  bore 
them  was  invulnerable  and  could  not  be  vanquished  (Sahagun’s 
Hist.  Conq.  1.  xii,  cap.  38). 

Whilst  it  has  been  remarked  before  that  the  “  xiuhcoatl”  was 
the  special  symbol  of  Huitzilopochtli,  it  has  not  as  yet  been  recog¬ 
nized  that  this  “  blue  serpent”  was  a  nante  for  his  atlatl  of  symbolic 
form.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  why,  in  the  first  case,  the  ser¬ 
pent  was  selected  as  an  appropriate  symbol  for  the  swift  thrower 
of  a  fatal  dart.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  moreover,  that  the  ser¬ 
pent  symbol  is  prominently  carved  on  each  of  the  existing  speci¬ 
mens  of  Mexican  atlatl.  It  is  still  more  interesting,  however,  to 
ascertain,  through  authentic  records,  that  atlatl,  made  in  the  shape 
of  a  serpent  and  inlaid  with  turquoises,  were  in  real  ceremonial 
use  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that,  soon  after  the  landing  of  Cortes, 
Montezuma  sent  him  by  messengers,  as  presents,  priestly  cere¬ 
monial  vestments  and  insignia,  such  as  were  worn  in  religious 
solemnities  by  the  high  priests  or  living  representatives  of  Aztec 
gods.1  Among  the  insignia  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  title,  in  this  case, 

Molina’s  or  M.  Remi  Simeon’s  dictionaries.  In  these  it  is  only  recorded  as  the  name 
given  by  the  Ancient  Mexicans  to  the  constellation  Gemini.  In  the  Nahuatl  text  of 
Sahagnn’s  MS.,  the  stick  used  for  making  fire  is  termed  “tlequauitl  ”  literally=:fire 
(tletl),  stick  (quauitl),  {op  cit.  lib.  vn,  cap.  IX).  Butthe  Spanish  text  describes  this  as 
being  “long  and  thin { like  an  arrow  or  dart.”  We  know  that  sticks  with  points  har¬ 
dened  by  fire  were  thrown  by  atlatl.  and  Sahagun’s  MS.  contains  numerous  illustra¬ 
tions  of  such  (PI.  Ill,  23).  Tezozomoc  terms  these  “varas  tostadas  ”  or  tlatzontectli.” 
He  mentions,  however,  a  “ vara  tostada  with  three  points”  {op.  cit.  392).  As  Sahagun 
informs  us  that  all  the  cane-stalks  otlatl  employed  as  shafts  for  arrows  or  spears  were 
first  subjected  to  a  process  of  hardening  by  fire,  it  would  seem  as  though  the  term 
“  vara  tostada  ’’  was  as  appropriate  for  shafts  simply  sharpened  to  a  point  as  for  those 
tipped  with  obsidian  or  fish-bone. 

1  For  the  reasons  why  these  insignia  were  sent  to  Cortes,  see  p.  35,  my  essay,  “Stan¬ 
dard  or  Head  dress  ?”  Peabody  Museum  Papers,  Vol.  I,  No.  1,  1888. 


189 


22 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


of  the  high  priest  of  Huitzilopochfli,  Sahagun  records  in  the  Span¬ 
ish  text  (lib.  xii,  cap.  iv)  :  “a  sceptre  like  a  bishop’s  crosier,  all 
inlaid  with  mosaic  composed  of  turquoises;  the  upper  curve  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  serpent’s  head  bent  or  twisted  over.”  Another  “  cro¬ 
sier  like  the  above”  is  enumerated  also  with  the  vestments  of  Tlal- 
ocantecuhtli ;  a  third  “  crozier  inlaid  with  turquoises  in  whose 
upper  curve  precious  stones  or  prominent  pearls  were  set”  is  de¬ 
scribed  with  the  insignia  of  the  god  Quetzalcoatl.” 

The  Nahuatl  text  of  the  Laurentiana  MS.  of  Saliagun’s  Historia 
simply  terms  the  first  crosier  a  “ xioatlatl  (blue  or  turquoise  atlatl) 
made  entirely  of  fine  turquoises,  of  the  serpent’s-head  form  =  with 
serpent’s  head  the  second  crosier  is  termed  a  ucoatopil  =  serpent 
staff,  worked  in  mosaic,”  and  the  third  an  lieca  xonecuilli  of  bent 
or  curved  wood,  inlaid  with  stars  formed  of  white  chalchilmites.” 
Many  of  these  presents  were  forwarded  by  Cortes  to  Charles  V.  in 
July,  1519,  and  the  descriptive  inventory  sent  with  them  has,  for¬ 
tunately,  preserved  many  interesting  details  that  complete  our 
knowledge  of  the  modes  of  structure  and  ornamentation  of  the  at¬ 
latl.  It  shows  us  also  that  two  atlatl  went  to  Spain  as  “sceptres,” 
and  that  each  was  accompanied  by  four  spears  or  “  harpoons  ”  of 
equal  elaborateness.  It  seems  probable  that  the  following  entry 
and  description  ivere  those  of  Tlalocantecuhtli’s  coatopilli  or  ser¬ 
pent  staff : 

“A  sceptre,  inlaid  with  scarlet  precious  stones,  made  like  a  serpent 
with  its  head  and  teeth  and  eyes  which  look  like  mother-of-pearl. 
The  handle  is  covered  with  painted  leather  and  from  it  hang  six 
small  tufts  of  feathers.”1  Further  on  is  the  entry  :  “  four  harpoons 
with  white  obsidian  points,  fastened  to  shafts  decorated  with  feather- 
work.”  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  atlatl  and  spears  together 
constitute  a  single  item  in  another  part  of  the  same  Meinoria: 
“  idem,  four  harpoons,  adorned  with  feathers,  with  points  of  stone 
tied  on  with  gold  thread  and  a  sceptre  inlaid  with  precious  stones, 
with  two  rings  of  gold  and  the  rest  feather  work.”  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  identify  this  atlatl  with  one  or  the  other  of  Montezuma’s 
presents  described  above,  although  it  must  have  been  one  of  them. 
It  is  evidently  this  atlatl  that  Gomara2  writes  of  as  “  a  staff  like 
a  royal  sceptre  finished  with  two  rings  of  gold  that  are  garnished 
with  pearls.”  His  description  of  the  harpoons  is  of  special  inter- 

1Coleccion  de  documentos  ineditos  para  la  historia  de  Espana,  Memoria.  tom.l,  p.  46). 

2Histoire  de  Mexique,  Anvers,  1554.  cf.  Clavigero,  op.  cit.,  ed.  Mora,  p.  250. 

190 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


23 


est  because  he  calls  them  “  four  tridents  each  with  three  points, 
ornamented  with  featherwork  of  many  colors.  The  points  are  of 
‘berrueco’  (bone?)  and  are  tied  on  with  gold  thread.” 

Now  we  find  that  Cortes  sent,  as  a  curiosity  and  present  to  his 
Grace  the  Bishop  of  Burgos,  “  a  something  like  a  crosier  inlaid 
with  precious  stones  of  many  colours.”1  So  it  seems  that  the 
three  “crosiers”  were  sent  to  Europe.  It  need  not  seem  aston¬ 
ishing  that  Cortes  and  his  followers  did  not  recognize  or  record 
the  true  nature  of  these  “crosiers.”  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
when  these  were  received  as  presents  and  forwarded  the  Spaniards 
had  not  yet  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  weapons  used  in  Aztec 
warfare.  Then  these  atlatl  of  eccentric  shape,  costly  materials 
and  elaborate  decoration  were  certainly  intended  to  be  more  orna¬ 
mental  than  useful.  They  were  ceremonial  and  symbolic  and  were 
destined  for  use  in  religious  rites  by  the  high  priests  or  living  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  the  Aztec  deities  or  in  the  decking  out  of  their  images. 
Both  Tezozomoc  {op.  cit p.  94)  and  Duran  {op.  cit .,  11,  81)  de¬ 
scribe  Huitzilopochtli’s  “  idol  in  the  great  temple  of  Mexico”  as 
holding  “  in  the  right  hand  what  resembled  a  bishop’s  crosier ,  made 
in  the  shape  of  a  serpent,  all  blue,  with  undulations  —  in  the  left 
a  shield  and  four  arrows  or  spears.”  In  the  great  festival  in  honor 
of  this  hero-god  held  in  the  month  Panquetzaliztli  we  are  told 
by  Sahagun  that  his  high-priest,  entitled  Quetzalcoatl,  bore  his  idol 
in  solemn  procession  whilst  another  priest  carried  the  image  of 
Paynal.  These  were  preceded  by  a  “mace-bearer  with  a  sceptre 
in  the  form  of  a  monstrous  serpent,  all  covered  with  mosaic  com¬ 
posed  of  turquoises.”2 

It  is  but  lately  that  I  came  across  the  most  interesting  pictures 
of  serpent  atlatl  in  a  scarcely  known,  but  very  valuable  and  impor¬ 
tant  Mexican  MS.,  preserved  at  the  Biblioteca  Nazionale,  Florence. 

The  first  of  these  (PI.  hi,  29)  to  which  I  will  revert,  distinctly 
exhibits  the  characteristic  lateral  finger  rings  of  Class  I. 

The  second  is  represented  in  the  picture  of  a  personage  clad  in 
the  habiliments  of  Huitzilopochtli  and  (PL  i,  7)  carrying  four  spears, 
a  shield  and  banner  besides  the  atlatl.3 

1  Coleccion  de  documentos  in^ditos  del  Archivo  de  Indias,  tomo  12,  p.  324. 

2  op.  cit.  Appendix  to  Book  II,  also  cliap.  34,  book  ii  of  Torqueraada,  op.  cit.,  II,  282, 
Who  confounds  the  symbolic  serpent  atlatl  with  the  banner  also  carried  in  procession. 

3This  picture  is  of  exceptional  importance  as  it  exhibits  a  head-dress  with  striking 
points  of  resemblance  to  the  ancient  Mexican  feather  head-dress  preserved  in  Vienna 
and  lends  the  strongest  support  to  my  view  of  the  question.  Headers  of  my  essay  on 

191 


24 


THE  ATLATL  OF  SPEAR-THROWER 


The  serpent-atlatl  is  not,  however,  exclusively  represented  with 
Huitzilopochtli. 


XIUHTECUHTLI. 

The  splendid  specimen  with  finger  rings  just  mentioned,  is 
painted  in  the  hand  of  Xiuhtecuhtli ,  as  the  text  declares  and  on  fo¬ 
lio  89  of  the  same  manuscript  we  find  the  same  god,  with  well- 
known  attributes,  holding  a  shorter  serpent  atlatl  besides  a  shield, 
banner  and  four  spears.  In  the  Vatican  Codex  A  (p.  56)  he  is  rep¬ 
resented  with  a  blue  atlatl  (PI.  in,  4)  and  a  strange  bent  serpent 
staff  in  his  left  hand.  The  latter  resembles  the  serpent  staff  held 
by  Quetzalcoatl  in  the  Vatican  Codex  B  (21)  and  accompanied  by 
a  harpoon  recalling  fig.  1.  In  Tezozomoc  (455)  a  serpent  staff 
“coatopilli”  is  mentioned  among  the  insignia  of  Quetzalcoatl. 

TEZCATLIPOCA. 

We  also  find  this  god  with  serpent  spear-throwers:  in  Sahagun’s 
Laurentiana  Manuscript  (PI.  in,  30  and  31),  in  the  Borgian  Codex, 
p.  22  (PI.  hi,  27),  and  in  the  Ramirez  Codex  (x,  17)  (PI.  hi,  28). 
In  his  explanatory  text  to  the  latter,2  Senor  Alfredo  Chavero  de¬ 
scribes  this  as  “the  weapon  in.  the  form  of  a  serpent,  the  xiuhcoatl” 
without,  however,  directly  identifying  it  as  an  atlatl. 

QUETZALCOATL. 

Let  us  now  examine  another  ceremonial  form  of  atlatl,  that 
which  we  invariably  encounter  in  representations  of  the  god  Quetz¬ 
alcoatl. 

We  h  ave  already  found  its  description  among  Montezuma’s  pres¬ 
ents  to  Cortes.  The  Spanish  text  terms  it  a  “crosier  inlaid  with 

this  historical  relic  (“Head-dress  or  Standard  ?”  Peabody  Mus.  Papers,  1, 1888)  may  he 
interested  in  having  their  attention  especially  drawn  to  the  following  details  and  in 
comparing  them  with  the  illustrations  of  the  Vienna  head-dress  contained  in  the  above 
essay. 

1.  Note  and  compare  superposed  central  elevation,  its  proportions  and  decoration 
with  discs. 

2.  The  symmetrical  design  on  the  second  concentric  band  above  the  forehead.  A  com¬ 
parison  of  the  coloring  of  this  illustration  is  also  desirable;  the  ground  of  the  central 
portion  is  blue  (the  discs  are  left  uncolored)  and  it  is  surrounded  by  an  edge  of  scarlet. 
(Observe  that  “the  most  striking  feature  of  the  Vienna  head-dress  is  a  broad  blue  band 
edged  with  scarlet,”  p.  36,  op.  cit.) 

Starting  from  the  band  above  the  forehead  the  colors  of  the  concentric  bands  are  as 
follows:  1,  red;2,  left  nncolored  with  pattern ;  3,  blue;  i,  red;  5,  green. 

A  long  fringe  of  Quetzal  tail-feathers  surmounts  the  whole. 

2 Appendix  to  Duran’s  Historian,  Mexico,  1880. 


192 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


25 


turquoises,  in  whose  upper  curve  precious  stones  or  prominent  pearls 
were  set.”  The  Nahuatl  text  has  informed  us  that  it  was  “of  bent 
or  curved  wood  on  which  were  stars,  formed  of  white  chalchilmites.” 

Sahagun  (lib.  i,  cap.  v)  likewise  describes  the  idol  of  this  god 
as  holding  in  his  left  hand  a  shield,  in  his  right  “a  sceptre  like  a 
bishop’s  crosier  ;  its  top  was  bent  like  a  bishop’s  crosier  and  it  was 
profusely  inlaid  with  mosaic.  But  it  was  not  as  long  as  a  crosier 
and  that  part  by  which  it  was  held  looked  like  a  sword-hilt.” 

Duran  (n,  119)  relates  that  this  “resembled  a  sickle,  was  of  wood 
and  painted  black,  white  and  red.  Near  its  handle  hung  a  tassel 
of  white  and  black  leather.”  This  authority  also  states  that  the 
idol  “carried  a  shield,”  but  Torquemada  {op.  cit .,  p.  290)  states  that, 
besides  this,  it  held  “a  finely  decorated  spear,  very  large,  with  a 
point  of  obsidian  of  the  shape  and  size  of  the  iron  points  to  one  of 
our  lances.” 

Referring  first  to  the  pictures  of  Quetzalcoatl’s  weapon  in  Saha- 
gun’s  MS.  (PI.  in,  24  and  25)  we  recognize  in  it  a  recurved  atlatl 
with  finger  pegs.  Its  drawing  is  evidently  distorted  ;  the  artist 
represented,  as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  observe  in  other 
cases,  a  side  view  of  the  curve  and  a  front  view  of  the  handle  and 
finger-pegs.  At  a  first  glance  its  proportions  strike  one  as  exag¬ 
gerated,  but  not  unfamiliar,  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare  figures 
14,  15,  18,  19,  20  and  21,  PI.  hi,  with  the  spear-throwers  1,  2,  4, 
5  and  16  of  PI.  in,  and  36,  37,  38  and  39  of  PI.  ii.  Figures  14, 
19  and  50  of  PI.  iii  represent  specimens  with  smooth  outline  and 
transverse  bands  of  color  which  recall  Duran’s  description  of 
“wooden  sickles  painted.”  Sahagun’s  illustrations  however  and 
fig.  18,  PI.  hi,  exhibit  ornamentation  and  have,  moreover,  a  series 
of  small  balls  placed  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  curve.  But  this 
was,  it  is  evident,  only  a  conventional  method  of  expressing  the 
fact  that  these  atlatl  were  inlaid  or  studded  with  precious  stones. 
For  we  find  real  bishops’  crosiers  represented  in  the  identical  ex¬ 
traordinary  manner  by  native  artists,  soon  after  the  Conquest,  figs. 
2  and  3,  p.  26.  From  these  pictures  we  learn  the  interesting  fact 
that  whilst  the  Spaniards  likened  this  form  of  ceremonial  atlatl  to 
a  bishop’s  crosier,  the  Mexican  artist,  on  attempting  to  delineate  a 
crosier,  drew  it  as  he  would  an  atlatl.  Therefore,  it  is  quite  evi¬ 
dent  that  the  resemblance  was  a  very  strong  one. 

Now,  let  us  produce  our  crowning  proofs  that  this  strange  “  cro¬ 
sier”  was  a  ceremonial  atlatl.  It  is  generally  represented,  as  we 


26 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


have  seen,  accompanied  by  one  part  of  military  armor,  a  shield. 
In  Sahagun’s  MS.,  it  is  also  accompanied,  in  one  instance,  by 
spears ;  but  in  the  Aubin  Codex  (appendix  to  Duran’s  Atlas)  Tez- 
catlipoca  (iii,  19)  carries  it  with  a  shield,  banner  and  two  spears 
and  in  the  MS.  of  the  Biblioteca  Nazionale  it  is  pictured  as  held 
by  the  god  of  the  chase,  Mixcoatl,  along  with  two  spears ,  a  shield, 
banner  and  provision  bag  (PI.  iii,  14).  In  this  MS.  the  text  in¬ 
forms  us  that  it  was  named  Mixcoatl  xonoquitl.  As  we  have  seen, 
Fray  Sahagun,  recorded  the  name  as  heca  xonecuilli  in  the  Lauren- 
tiana  MS.  of  his  Historia.  Each  of  these  names  for  the  curved 
atlatl  seems  to  be,  in  the  first  case,  descriptive  of  its  form. 

The  word  “xonecuilli”  or  “  xonoquitl”  js,  I  should  say,  a  syn- 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


Bishop  Zuraaraja,  first  bishop  of  Mexico. 
Telleriano  Remensis  Codex,  p.  30. 


Archbishop  Montufar.  MS.  His¬ 
tory  of  Mexico,  1576. 


thesis  of  the  verbs  xolla  —  to  cut,  to  carve,  to  hew,  or  xolochoa  = 
to  bend  or  fold  something,  and  necuiloa  —  to  twist  or  bend  some¬ 
thing.  It  would,  therefore,  onty  mean  “that  which  is  curved, 
twisted  or  bent.”  Certain  loaves  of  bread,  made  during  the  feast  of 
the  god  Macuilxochitl,  were  also  named  “xonecuilli.”  We  are 
told  by  Sahagun  (i,  14)  that  “  these  were  of  the  form  of  a  stroke 
of  falling  lightning.”  Mr.  Remi  Simeon,  in  a  note  to  his  admir¬ 
able  translation  of  Sahagun’s  Historia  (p.  32),  describes  these  as 
“  loaves  of  the  form  of  an  S.” 

The  fact  that  a  stroke  of  lightning  was  symbolized  by  a  certain 
form  termed  “  xonecuilli,”  and  that  this  was  the  name  of  a  cere¬ 
monial  form  of  atlatl  illumines  a  whole  series  of  obscure  pas¬ 
sages.  Duran  has  recorded  that  Tlaloc’s  emblem  “was  of  carved 
wood  shaped  like  a  stroke  of  lightning ”  (i,  p.  306).  He  also  re- 
194 


USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


27 


lates  that  Tlaloc’s  idol  held  in  his  right  hand  “a  stroke  of  lightning 
of  wood,  painted  purple.”  This  was  undulated,  like  a  stroke  of 
wavy  lightning  falling  from  the  clouds  to  the  ground  (11,  136). 
Tezozomoc  (434)  and  Orozco  y  Berra  (iii,  360)  tell  us  that  Tlaloc’s 
staff  was  called  tlapetlaquauitl  or  “staff  casting  out  lightning.” 

To  examine  Tlaloc’s  emblems  further  would  be  to  transgress  be- 
jmnd  the  limit  of  my  subject.  Suffice  it,  therefore,  to  have  been 
confirmed  in  the  knowledge  that  lightning  and  swift  destruction 
were  symbolized  by  a  certain  curved  form,  and  that  this  form  was 
that  of  a  ceremonial  atlatl. 

It  seems  as  though  one  could  discern  the  line  of  thought  that 
led  the  ancient  Mexicans  to  associate  lightning  and  (the  closely 
allied)  serpent  symbolism  with  their  military  arm  for  throwing  fa¬ 
tal  missiles.  They  ma}'  have  done  so  at  first  with  the  belief  and 
hope  of  endowing  their  atlatl  with  the  qualities  they  recognized 
in  both  destructive  forces.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how,  by  grad¬ 
ual  transition  the  forces  themselves  should  come  to  be  symbolized 
bj"  the  weapons  and  that  these  should  become  more  and  more  em¬ 
blematic  and  depart  from  their  primitive  form.  This  transition  was 
taking  place  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  and  had  reached  its  max¬ 
imum  in  Quetzalcoatl’s  and  Tlaloc’s  lightning-lmrler  and  Huitzilo- 
poclitli’s  xiuhcoatl  or  turquoise  serpent.  But  even  in  these  cere¬ 
monial  emblems  the  form  and  idea  of  the  atlatl  were  far  from  being 
abandoned  and  were  ever  present.  Nothing  proves  this  more  clearly 
than  a  figure  of  speech  preserved  by  Padre  Olmos.1  From  him 
we  learn  that,  to  express  the  idea  that  we  might  render  by  the 
phrase,  “  He  smote  the  pe'ople,”  meaning  a  visitation  of  famine  or 
pestilence,  christianized  Mexicans  made  use  of  an  ancient  meta¬ 
phor  and  said,  “  He  hurls  (with)  the  xiuhcoatl ,  the  mamalhuaztli 
upon  them.” 

Let  us  now  hastily  review  the  atlatl  represented  with 

TEZCATLIPOCA. 

We  have  found  him  with  the  serpent- atlatl,  PI.  iii,  27,  28,  30  and 
31,  and  with  the  lightning-atlatl,  PI.  tii,  18,  19. 

Duran  (it,  106)  and  Tezozomoc  (109)  give  a  valuable  indica¬ 
tion  by  telling  us  that,  in  each  town,  there  were  two  different  idols 
of  Tezcatlipoca. 

In  the  great  temples  of  Texcoco  and  the  city  of  Mexico  one* 

1Graramaire  de  la  laDgue  Nahuail,  Edition  K4mi  Simeon,  Paris,  1875,  p.  227. 

195 


28 


THE  ATLATL  OR  SPEAR-THROWER 


image  was  seated  ;  in  its  left  hand  were  a  shield  and  four  spears  and 
in  the  right  a  spear.  His  arm  was  raised  in  threatening  gesture  as 
though  he  wished  to  throw  it  and  this  spear  was  placed  in  an  “am- 
iento  =  atlatl.” 

Both  of  these  authorities  give  us  pictures,  by  native  artists,  of 
this  idol  (fig.  4  A,  B, )  and  both  agree  in 
their  description  of  the  second  idol. 

It  carried  also  four  spears  but  we  are  told 
that  in  the  other  hand  it  held  a  “  fan”  of 
precious  feathers.  These  were  green  and 
yellow  and  were  fastened  to  a  circular  plate 
of  burnished  gold  like  a  mirror  .  .  .  which 
fan  was  called  “y  tlachiayan.”  Duran’s 
illustration  corresponds  to  this  description 
but  pictures  the  circular  plate  as  a  hollow 
circle  divided  by  lines  into  four  portions. 

Reference  to  Tezcatlipoca’s  picture  in  Sahagun’s  Laui’entian  MS. 
proves  this  “  fan’”  to  be  a  mis-described  “  tlachieloni,”  an  instru¬ 
ment  we  find  thus  represented  in  the  hand  of  this  and  other  gods 
(fig.  5.)  His  description  is  contained  in  the  chapter  of  this  work 


Fig.  4. 


A. — Duran’s  Atlas. 

B.  — Ramirez  Codex. 


Sahngun’s  Laurentiana  MS.,  Book  I. 

relating  to  Xiuhtecuhtli :  “he  holds  in  his  left  hand  a  shield ;  in 
the  right  what  was  like  a  sceptre  (fig.  6) .  It  was  a  circular  plate 
*  of  gold,  hollow  in  the  centre.  This  was  surmounted  by  two  balls, 
one  smaller  than  the  other,  and  there  was  a  point  on  the  top  of 
196 


USED  BT  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


29 


the  smallest.  They  called  this  sceptre  Tlachieloni,  which  means 
‘seer  or  looker,’  for  with  it  one  could  hide  one’s  face  and  look 
through  the  circle  of  gold”  (lib.  .1,  cap.  xni).  In  the  text  relating 
to  Opuchtli,  the  reputed  inventor  of  the  harpoon,  it  is  described 
as  “  a  sceptre  like  a  monstrance  or  pyx,  at  the  top  of  which  pro¬ 
jects  an  arrow  point,”  from  which  one  would  scarcely  recognize  its 
picture  in  the  same  chapter  (fig.  7) .  I  do  not  hesitate  in  identi¬ 
fying  this  “  tlachieloni”  as  a  badly  drawn  ceremonial  form  of  the 
atlatl  provided  with  a  finger-hole,  that  we  have  studied  with  Class  I. 

Notice  that  this  “tlachieloni”  is  only  met  with  in  Sahagun’s 
illustrations  to  book  i,  in  Duran’s  Atlas  and  in  the  Aubin  Codex, 
all  of  which  date  unquestionably  from  after  the  Conquest.  Even 
in  these  it  is  invariably  accompanied  by  a  shield  and  in  the  cases  of 
Xiuhtecuhtli  and  Tezcatlipoca  with  spears  or  a  shield  and  a  banner. 

It  is  also  a  significant  fact  that  we  find  only  exceptional  tlachie¬ 
loni  in  the  hands  of  deities  who  are  usually  represented  with  various 
forms  of  authentic  atlatl  by  the  artists  of  older  Codices.  Beside 
Tezcatlipoca,  see  Xiuhtecuhtli  (PI.  ii,  9,  24  and  iii,  1,  4,  5  and  29). 

The  name  tlachieloni ,  meaning  ‘  ‘  that  through  which  one  can  look  ” 
(from  the  verb  tlachia  =  to  look)  is  descriptive  and  would  be 
equally  applicable  to  all  the  atlatl  provided  with  finger-holes  through 
which  one  could  look.  One  is  led  to  infer  by  Duran’s  text,  how¬ 
ever,  that  a  symbolism  was  attached  to  this  ceremonial  form  of 
atlatl  and  that  the  circle  through  which  one  could  look  had  become 
emblematic  of  the  power  of  sight.  Fray  Duran  records  the  pop¬ 
ular  belief  that  “Tezcatlipoca  saw  all  that  happened  in  the  uni¬ 
verse.”  The  circles  or  rings  usually  represented  about  the  eyes  of 
Tlaloc  conveyed,  undoubtedly,  a  similar  symbolism  and  were  the 
emblem  of  constant  watchfulness  and  powerful,  all-seeing  vision. 

Pausing  now  to  review  the  principal  Aztec  gods  in  their  repre¬ 
sentations,  one  cannot  but  be  struck  by  the  fact  established  by  the 
foregoing  testimony  that  each  god  carries ,  as  symbol,  some  forrp  of 
atlatl.  Turning  to  the  sculptured  monuments  of  Mexico  and  Yuc¬ 
atan  we  find  the  atlatl  and  the  spear  and  an  almost  total  absence 
of  any  other  weapon.  The  same  observation  applies  to  the  older 
Maya  and  Mexican  Codices. 

In  the  Mexican  MSS.  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Conquest  one 
can  trace  the  disappearance  of  the  atlatl  by  its  increasingly  incor¬ 
rect  representations  and  note  its  extinction  by  finding  these  finally 
superseded  by  pictures  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  And  thus  the  inter- 

197 


30 


THE  ATLATL  USED  BY  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


rupted  evolution  of  the  truly  wonderful  atlatl,  the  spear-thrower 
of  ancient  Mexico,  came  to  an  end. 

The  atlatl,  although  exquisitely  carved,  covered  with  gold,  inlaid 
with  turquoise,  decorated  with  feather  work  and  exhibiting  the  re¬ 
markable  degree  of  skill  attained  by  an  industrious  and  intelligent 
race,  seems,  indeed,  to  be  a  fitting  epitome  of  the  strange  civiliza¬ 
tion  of  Ancient  Mexico,  the  real  barbarism  of  which  was  mitigated 
by  the  most  marvellous  perfection  in  every  detail  of  industrial  art. 

Dresden ,  August ,  1890. 

198 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATE  I. 


Figs,  l .  2. 

3,  4,  5. 
(>a. 


c,h. 


i . 


Sculptured  warriors  on  stone  posts  of  doorway  of  building 
known  as  the  “Tennis-Court,”  Chiclien-Itza.  Drawings 
from  photographs  of  casts. 

Warriors  from  bas-relief  on  wall  of  a  chamber.  “  Palace  of 
the  Tigers,”  Chiclien-Itza. 

Sculptured  warrior  carrying  atlatl  below  shield,  on  so-called 
Sacrificial  Stone,  City  of  Mexico. 

Sculptured  warrior  presenting  atlatl,  also  on  so-called  Sacri¬ 
ficial  Stone. 

Picture  of  Huitzilopoclitli  holding  the  Xiuhcoatl  =  the  blue 
serpent  atlatl, —  four  spears,  a  shield  and  banner. 

The  head-dress  strikingly  and  closely  resembles  the  Ancient 
Mexican  head-dress  preserved  in  Vienna.  It  has  a  similar 
central  superposed  elevation  also  ornamented  with  discs. 
The  design  on  the  border  close  to  the  face  recalls  the  sym¬ 
metrical  “castellated”  ornamentation  on  the  Vienna  head¬ 
dress. 

Ancient  Mexican  MS.,  National  Library,  Florence,  folio  89. 


(200) 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  No.  3,  pl.I. 


PLATE  II. 


FROM  ACCOMPANIED  BY 


1. 

Vues  des  Cordilleres, 

p.  15. 

2. 

Laud  MS.,  . 

p.  18, 

spears  (2). 

3a. 

So-called  Sacrificial  Stone. 

spears  (2),  shield,  banner. 

3b. 

Mendoza  Codex, 

p.  5, 

spears  (3),  shield. 

4. 

Borgian  “ 

p.  34, 

spears  (2). 

5. 

Fejervary  “ 

spears  (2). 

G. 

Bas-relief,  Dupaix  I, 

p.  23, 

spears  (4),  shield,  etc. 

7. 

Laud  Codex,  . 

p.  20, 

spears  (2)  double. 

8. 

Vatican  Codex  A, 

p.  70, 

spear  (1)  and  quiver. 

9. 

Borgian  “ 

p.  54, 

spear -bundle. 

10. 

Laud  “ 

p.  G, 

spear  (1). 

11. 

F6j6rvary  “ 

p.  32, 

shield,  banner. 

12. 

Vienna  “ 

p.  50, 

spears  (2),  banner. 

13. 

Scldcn  “ 

P-  L 

shield. 

14. 

Vatican  “  A, 

p.  17, 

spear  (triple) . 

15. 

“  “  “  . 

p.  27, 

spears  (3). 

1G. 

( t  ((  (( 

P-  14, 

“  “ 

17. 

Bologna  “ 

p.  21, 

spears  (3),  shield. 

18. 

p.  24, 

t i  i t  it 

19. 

it  it 

p.  14, 

it  ii  H 

20. 

“  “ 

p.  15, 

a  a  tt 

21. 

Borgian  “ 

p.  18, 

spears  (3),  shield,  banner. 

22. 

“  “ 

p.  69, 

“  (2),  “ 

23. 

FejGrvary  “ 

p.  43, 

“  (3). 

24. 

Vatican  “  A, 

p.  29, 

“  (3). 

25. 

it  Hit 

p.  27, 

“  (2). 

2G. 

H  Hit 

p.  13, 

“  (3). 

27. 

Borgian  “ 

p.  4, 

spear  (double),  shield,  hau¬ 
lier. 

28. 

Dresden  “ 

p.  G5, 

spears  (2). 

29. 

30. 

Carved  on  teponaxtle 

p.  GO, 

copal-bag? 

in  British  Museum,  . 

spears  (2). 

31. 

Dresden  “ 

p.  47, 

spears  (2). 

32. 

“  ed.  Kingsborougli, 

p.  48, 

ii  i  i 

33. 

Dresden  Codex, 

p.  4G, 

shield  (transfixed  prey 
in  vignette  below). 

34. 

“  . 

p.  50, 

spears  (2). 

35. 

a  a 

p.  GO, 

spears  (2). 

36. 

“  “  .  .  . 

p.  G5, 

spear  (1). 

37. 

Troano  “ 

p.  47, 

spears  (2;. 

38. 

it  it 

p.  7, 

spear  (1). 

39. 

Engraved  on  Humboldt  celt. 

40. 

Dresden  Codex, 

(202) 

p.  49, 

spears  (2). 

JPeabody  3VT-u.seu.rrL  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  No.  3,  pi.  II. 


PLATE  III. 


DESCRIBED  BY 

FROM  CONTEMPORARY  TEXTS  ACCOMPANIED  BY 

AS 

Pig- 


1 .  Y atican  Codex, 

p.  32, 

Xiuatlatl. 

2.  i*  “ 

p.  33, 

“  a  certain  sort  of  arm 

3.  Vienna  “ 

p.  20, 

as  a  bow.” 

spears,  shield,  banner, 
spear,  shield. 

4.  Vatican  “ 

p.  50, 

serpent,  staff. 

5.  “  “ 

p.  74, 

. 

spears,  shield. 

0.  MS.  History  of 
Mexico, 

p.  33, 

Hieroglyph  of  town. 

7.  Fcjervary  Codex, 

p.  44, 

* 

spears. 

8.  Borgian  “ 

p.  14, 

“  shield. 

9.  Vatican,  “ 

p.  08, 

. 

“  “  banner. 

10.  Telleriano  lle- 
mensis  Codex, 

p-  s, 

Xiuatlatli,  . 

“  provision  bag. 

12.  Borgian  “ 

p.  01, 

“  shield. 

13.  Fcjervary  “ 

p.  4, 

“ 

14.  National  Library, 

Mixcoatl  xonoquitl, 

“  “  banner 

Florence,  MS., 
15.  Duran’s  Atlas,  n, 

p-  0, 

and  provision  bag. 
shield. 

10.  Vatican  Codex, 

P-  81, 

“  amiento  made  of 

17. 

p.  82, 

wood.” 

“  amiento  made  of 

“  and  banner. 

18.  llamirez  “  vii, 

p.  19, 

wood,” 

((  it  (C 

19.  “  “  vtii 

.  p.  13. 

spears,  shield,  banner. 

20.  Vatican  “ 

P-  8, 

“  ecacocce.” 

21.  “  (A)  “ 

P  14, 

copal-bag. 

22.  “  “  “ 

p.  01. 

Xiuatlatli, 

spears,  shield. 

23.  IMS.  Hist.  Saliagun, 

spear,  shield. 

24.  “ 

shield. 

25.  “ 

spears. 

20.  Botnrini  MS., 

27.  Borgian  Codex, 

p.  22, 

Hieroglyph  of  town. 

“  shield,  banner. 

28.  Tlamirez  x. 

p.  17, 

it  1 1  <  C 

29.  National  Library, 
Florence,  MS., 

l  i  H  it 

30.  MS.  Hist.  Saha gun. 

31.  “ 

32.  “  “  “  .  Xiuliatlatl,  .  .  spear. 

33.  “  “  “ . spears  and  shield- 


I3e»t>ody  ]VXixseu.m  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  JSTo.  3,  pi.  III. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MUSEUM. 

—  Harvard  University  — 

Vol.  I.  No.  4. 


REPORT 

UPON 


PILE-STRUCTURES  IN  N  A  AM  AMS  CREEK, 


NEAR  CLAYMONT,  DELAWARE. 


BY 

HILBORNE  T.  CRESSON,  A.M.,  M.D. 

SPECIAL  ASSISTANT  OF  THE  PEABODY  MUSEUM. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY. 
April,  1892. 


PRINTED  BY 

The  Salem  Press  Publishing  and  Printing  Co, 


&be  Salem  press. 

SALEM,  MASS. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


In  the  Twenty-second  Report  of  the  Museum  for  the  year 
1887-8,  a  brief  notice  is  given  of  a  collection  of  stone  imple¬ 
ments,  potsherds  and  other  objects,  taken  from  the  mud 
near  the  mouth  of  Naaman’s  creek,  Claymont,  Delaware,  pre¬ 
sented  by  Mr.  Hilborne  T.  Cresson,  with  a  few  others  from 
the  same  place  presented  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Huey,  and  Mr.  W.  R. 
Thompson.  The  statement  is  there  made  that  these  objects 
were  found  in  the  mud  of  the  creek  at  three  localities,  desig¬ 
nated  Stations  A,  B  and  C,  which  were  near  together.  The 
fact  that  these  objects  were  in  close  association  with  the  de¬ 
cayed  remains  of  stakes  or  piles  (several  of  which  have  been 
carefully  taken  up  and  sent  to  the  Museum),  indicating  some 
aboriginal  structure  of  an  unknown  character,  made  the  col¬ 
lection  one  of  considerable  interest  and  importance.  Since 
then,  Mr.  Cresson  has  sent  to  the  Museum  other  specimens 
from  this  interesting  locality  and  has  furnished  a  Report  giv¬ 
ing  a  detailed  account  of  his  long-continued  and  careful  re- 
searches  at  this  place.  This  Report  is  here  published  and  is 
commended  as  a  clear  and  simple  account  of  the  facts  ob¬ 
served  during  the  research.  From  this  statement  archaeolo¬ 
gists  can  draw  such  conclusions  as  seem  to  them  most  likely 
to  account  for  the  presence  of  the  piles  and  the  associated  ob¬ 
jects  which  to  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  Cresson  seem  to  indicate  an 
aboriginal  fish-weir. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  op  the  Museum. 

Cambridge,  Mass., 

March  21,  1892. 


209 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES,  SUPPOSED  TO  BE  THE 
REMAINS  OF  ABORIGINAL  FISH-WEIRS,  IN  NAAMAN’S  - 
CREEK,  NEAR  CLAYMONT,  DELAWARE. 


The  specimens  collected  during  explorations  for  the  Peabody 
Museum,  since  1887,  at  the  site  of  the  pile-structures  which  are 
believed  to  be  the  remains  of  prehistoric  fish-weirs,  inside  of  the 
mouth  of  Naaman’s  creek,  near  Claymont,  Del.,  together  with  speci¬ 
mens  gathered  before  my  connection  with  the  Museum  as  field  as¬ 
sistant,  have  been  arranged  for  study,  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  collection  is  placed  on  exlhbition4in  the  Museum  ;  thus  pre¬ 
senting  with  the  Abbott,  Lockwood  and  Bennett  collections,  an 
interesting  series  illustrating  the  condition  of  early  man  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Delaware  valley. 

The  slow  and  laborious  nature  of  the  work,  executed  with  a 
hand-dredge,  rendered  it  impossible  to  complete  the  examinations 
until  the  summer  of  1889.  At  this  time  a  steam  dredge  was  used 
to  deepen  the  creek’s  channel  near  Richmond’s  brick-yard  which 
finished  the  work.  This  more  rapid  method  of  procedure,  although 
it  destroyed  the  site  of  the  relic  bed  surrounding  the  pile-structures, 
served  to  add  many  new  specimens  of  interest  to  the  collection, 
and  afforded  a  chance  to  examine  more  fully  the  geological  forma¬ 
tion  upon  which  the  alluvial  deposits  and  underlying  peat  and  gravel 
beds  rest. 

In  1870,  a  fisherman  living  in  the  village  of  Marcus  Hook,  Pa., 
gave  me  some  spear  and  arrowheads,  chipped  from  a  dense  argil¬ 
lite,  which  he  had  found  on  the  edge  of  the  extensive  mud  flats 
which  border  Naaman’s  creek,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Delaware 
river.  The  finder  stated  that  while  cat-fishing  among  the  reeds 
and  spatter-docks,  he  noticed,  here  and  there,  the  ends  of  logs 
or  stakes  protruding  from  the  mud,  and  that  they  seemed  to  be 
placed  in  rows  ;  to  use  his  own  words,  “they  stuck  out  just  above  the 

211 


6 


REPORT  UPON  PILE- STRUCTURES 


mud,  were  us  rotten  as  punk,  and  he  could  see  no  reason  why  they’d 
been  placed  there  by  white  folks ;  more  than  likely  the  Indians  in 
old  times  used  them  to  hitch  their  canoes  to  when  spearing  fish,  and 
that  was  the  reason  the  darts,  axes  and  such  like  were  found  around 
there.”  A  visit  to  the  place,  made  a  few  days  afterward  in  com¬ 
pany  with  the  fisherman,  disclosed  the  ends  of  much  decayed  stakes 
protruding  above  the  mud,  just  as  he  had  stated,  and  confirmed 
what  I  had  before  heard  in  regard  to  them  from  a  reed-bird  gunner, 
who  encountered  them  while  poling  his  skiff  off  the  marsh  into  the 
creek  after  the  water  had  fallen  on  the  ebb-tide.  At  that  time 
(1870)  I  coincided  with  the  fisherman’s  views  that  the  spot  had 
been  a  fishing-place  of  the  Indians,  as  the  finds  of  argillite  imple¬ 
ments  seemed  only  to  exist  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  wooden 
structures  or  stake-ends.  More  mature  deliberation  based  upon 
the  results  of  hand-dredging  and  excavating  since  my  first  visit 
(1870),  only  serves  to  confirm  my  opinion  that  the}’  were  the  re¬ 
mains  of  fish-weirs. 

Professional  duties  did  not  permit  me  at  this  time  (1870)  to  give 
the  matter  serious  attention,  and  it  was  not  until  my  return  from 
France,  in  1880,  that  I  again  visited  the  spot  at  Naaman’s  creek 
where  the  finds  had  been  made.  While  abroad  I  studied  many  ar- 
clueological  collections,  especially  those  from  the  Swiss  lakes,  and 
visited  various  prehistoric  stations  of  Switzerland.  The  rude  sharp¬ 
ening  of  the  pile-ends  which  I  there  examined  was  in  some  cases 
evidently  made  with  sharp  stone  implements  and  recalled  the  cuts  on 
the  stake-ends  at  Naaman’s  creek.  Since  1880,  I  have  frequently 
examined  the  spot,  excavating  the  few  pile-ends  that  remained  and 
preserving  several  that  did  not  fall  to  pieces.  Careful  notes  were 
made  of  the  dredgings  and  excavations.  These  operations  were  car¬ 
ried  on  at  low  tide,  the  work  being  conducted  principally  by  my¬ 
self  aided  at  times  by  interested  friends.  The  results,  so  far  (1887), 
seemed  to  indicate  that  the  ends  of  piles  embedded  in  the  mud, 
judging  from  the  implements  and  other  debris  scattered  around 
them,  had  once  served  as  supports  to  structures  intended  for  fish- 
weirs.  In  all  probability,  the  piles  or  stakes  originally  projected 
a  few  feet  above  the  water  and  were  probably  interlaced  with  wattles 
or  vines  to  more  readily  bar  the  passage  of  fish  from  the  creek  to 
the  river.  The  upper  portions  of  these  wooden  structures  have 
disappeared  during  the  long  lapse  of  time  since  the}’  were  placed 
there. 


212 


IN  NAAMAN’s  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


7 


The  edge  of  the  flats  in  which  the  stakes  were  embedded1 2  is 
covered  with  about  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  of  water  on  the  flood 
tide.  At  slack  water  it  forms  a  low  mud  bank  slanting  toward  the 
creek.  Three  different  stations9  were  located,  probably  all  that 
exist,  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  referred  to.  This  opinion  is  based 
upon  careful  examination  of  nearly  every  inch  of  ground  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  stake-ends,  made  within  the  pastffour  years  by 
dredging  in  sections  between  certain  points  marked  upon  the 
creek’s  bank.  The  implements  found  at  Station  A  are  generally 
made  of  argillite,  with  a  few  quartz  and  quartzite.  Some  were 
very  rude  in  character  and  not  unlike  the  palaeoliths  found  by  Dr. 
C.  C.  Abbott  in  the  Trenton  gravels.3 

The  reproduction,  from  a  photograph,  shows  the  pile-ends  as  they 
appeared  before  excavation  at  the  spot  designated  station  B  (see 
p.  8).  The  other  stations,  A  and  C,  were  generally  covered  at 
high  tide.  These  stakes  were  carefully  excavated,  dried  and  for¬ 
warded  to  the  Peabocty  Museum  by  the  late  Mr.  William  Reilly4 * * * * 
of  Philadelphia,  a  florist,  then  living  at  Claymont.  The  slight 
amount  of  excavation  necessary  to  remove  the  pile-ends  did  not 
give  anything  more  than  a  superficial  idea  of  the  geological  forma¬ 
tion  in  which  they  stood,  and,  as  it  has  been  stated,  until  the 
steam-dredge  began  its  work  of  deepening  the  bed  of  Naaman’s 
creek  so  that  sloops  could  enter  its  shallow  waters  and  anchor  at 
the  wharf  near  Richmond’s  brick-yard,  it  was  not  possible  to  learn 
much  in  regard  to  the  underlying  formation. 

Careful  study  of  the  material  brought  up  during  the  operation  of 
the  steam -dredge  suggests  that  in  places  a  bastard  peat  soil  or  peat 
muck,  covered  by  alluvial  deposits  several  feet  in  thickness,  rests 


1  The  alluvium  was  excavated  from  around  these  stakes  which  were  photographed 
in  place  before  removal. 

2  The  term  “station”  was  adopted  by  Professor  Putnam’s  suggestion,  as  implements 
were  found  in  certain  spots,  several  feet  apart,  in  the  bed  of  the  creek. 

implements  of  like  kind  have  been  found  in  the  boulder  clay  at  the  brick-yard 
alongside  of  Naaman’s  creek.  The  implements  that  were  brought  up  by  the  hand- 
dredge  at  station  A  may,  therefore,  have  been  washed  out  of  the  brick  and  boulder- 
clay  deposits  and  scattered  among  the  alluvial  deposits  in  which  the  stakes  were 
found. 

4  Mr.  Reilly’s  letter  accompanied  the  specimens  referred  to.  He  took  an  active  in¬ 

terest  in  the  researches  of  the  Peabody  Museum.  He  was  drowned  near  the  mouth  of 

Naaman’s  creek  in  1887.  Thanks  of  the  Museum  are  also  due  Mr.  Charles  Ottey  and 

Willie  Shute  who  presented  specimens  found  among  the  debris  deposited  by  the  steam- 

dredge.  Their  letters  accompanied  the  specimens  and  are  on  file  in  the  Museum. 


213 


8 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES 


upon  the  brick-clay  of  Lewis  (Columbian  of  McGee),  and  that  this 
same  peat  layer  frequently  dips  downward  under  the  clay  deposit. 
An  example  of  this  may  be  seen  northeast  and  southeast  of  the 
creek’s  mouth  near  low-water  mark;  here  is  a  bed  of  hard,  blue 
cla}'  and  two  hundred  feet  further  inland,  a  dark,  peaty  soil  comes 
to  the  surface.  Southwest  of  this  at  Lobdell’s  Car  Wheel  Works, 
near  the  mouth  of  Christiana  creek,1  this  same  peat-bed  exists, 
covered  in  places  by  alluvial  deposits  varying  from  three  feet  to 
six  and  even  ten  feet  in  thickness.  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Emer 


PILE-ENDS  AT  STATION  B. 


Loyd  of  Claymont  that,  several  years  ago,  while  excavating  muck 
for  fertilizing  purposes  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  William  Myers,  there 
was  encountered  at  a  depth  of  twelve  feet  this  same  peat  layer  to¬ 
gether  with  the  trunks  of  trees ;  in  fact,  this  has  often  been  remarked 
by  well-diggers  in  that  vicinity,  and  in  all  probability^  accounts  for 
the  so-called  tree-ends  which  protrude  from  beneath  alluvial  depos¬ 
its  in  the  bed  of  the  Delaware  river  near  Grubb’s  landing.  These 

1  Chipped  implements  of  argillite  have  been  found  three  and  a  half  feet  beneath  this 
peat-layer  See  letters  of  Mr.  George  Lobdell  on  file  in  the  Museum.  Mr.  Lobdell 
mentions  the  trunks  of  sycamore  trees  iu  the  peat.  In  this  respect  it  resembles  the 
Fallen  Forest  and  Peat  Layer  at  Claymont.  A  number  of  these  implements,  collected 
by  Mr.  Lobdell  in  1882,  are  iu  the  Museum,  presented  by  him  in  1S34  and  1S88. 

214 


IN  NAAMAN’S  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


9 


obstructions  are  a  source  of  annoyance  to  the  sturgeon  fishermen 
who  set  deep  nets,  and  for  this  reason  they  resort  to  the  east  chan¬ 
nel  of  the  river.  Some  connection  may  be  traced  between  these 
facts  and  the  legends  that  exist  among  the  country  people  in  the 
vicinity  in  regard  to  apple  orchards  standing  upon  farms  now  en¬ 
tirely  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  Delaware. 

Professor  McCorkle  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  informs 
me  that  the  encroachments  of  the  river  upon  the  west  bank,  within 
the  past  hundred  years,  have  been  so  slight  that  the  contours  of 
recent  and  earlier  surveys  show  very  little  change.  The  fact  must 
not  be  overlooked,  however,  that  certain  land  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Delaware  river,  at  one  time  covered  by  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
tide,  was  reclaimed  from  its  waters  by  dykes.  This  was  the  work 
of  the  early  settlers.  The  land  near  the  Christiana  creek  and  the 
shore  line  of  the  Delaware  south  of  that  point  are  examples  of  this. 
Mr.  Lobdell,  who  owns  large  tracts  of  land  near  the  spot  last  men¬ 
tioned,  states  that  the  dykes  along  the  Delaware  river  front  and 
the  Christiana  creek  require  careful  attention  to  prevent  overflow, 
and  that  the  land  had  undoubtedly  been  reclaimed  by  the  early 
Swedish  settlers  from  the  encroachments  of  the  water  ;  a  proof  be¬ 
ing  given  by  the  heavy  alluvial  deposits  in  the  vicinity  resting  upon 
other  aqueous  deposits  of  great  age. 

These  facts  are  mentioned  to  show  that  “  The  Fallen  Forest  and 
Peat  Layer”  is  not  confined  solely  to  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  mouth  of  Naaman’s  creek  but  is  distributed  over  a  wider 
area.1 

Under  the  brick-clay  of  Lewis  may  be  encountered,  at  certain 
localities,  a  red  gravel  similar  in  character  to  that  observed  further 
northeast  toward  Philadelphia,  but  not  so  well  defined  and  disap¬ 
pearing  altogether  at  times  or  merging  into  the  boulders  and  clay 
so  characteristic  of  this  region.  Whether  the  old  tertiary  sea  de¬ 
posit,  so  well  marked  at  Philadelphia,  exists  thus  far  south  is  yet 


1  When  Mr.  McGee  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  visited  the  peat-beds, 
then  uncovered  at  Richmond’s  brick-yard,  Naaman’s  creek,  he  was  unable  to  give  a 
decided  opinion  in  regard  to  their  age.  In  a  letter  to  me  upon  the  subject,  bearing 
date  of  Jan.  13,  1890,  he  states:  “You  must  allow  me  to  withhold  my  opinion  until  I 
have  opportunity  to  make  extended  studies  along  both  sides  of  the  Delaware,  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.”  Prof.  G.  Frederick  Wright,  who  visited  the  site 
of  the  supposed  fish-weirs  as  well  as  other  localities  in  the  neighborhood,  expressed 
himself  as  greatly  puzzled  by  the  position  of  the  peat-beds. 


215 


10 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES 


to  be  demonstrated.1  Underlying  the  brick-clay  is  the  crystalline 
of  Dana. 

A  suggestion  of  the  superposition  of  the  layers  near  the  mouth 
of  the  creek  may  be  conveyed  by  the  ideal  sketch  shown  below. 
AD  represents  the  creek’s  bed  and  alluvial  deposits  overlying ; 


BC  brick  clay  and  G  gravel  deposits;  CD  is  the  crystalline  of 
Dana ;  BL  is  tiie  peat  layer  that  lower  down  contains  the  fallen 
trunks  of  willow,  cedar,  oak  and  pine  trees;  for  this  reason  it  has 
been  designated  the  Fallen  Forest  and  Peat  Layer.  The  black 
areas  in  the  creek  bed  mark  the  position  of  the  pile-structures  which 
it  is  conjectured  were  interlaced  with  wattles  or  vines,  forming 
ancient  fish-weirs. 

The  position  of  these  pile-structures  shows  that  in  two  localities 
they  were  implanted  in  the  peat  la}’er,  and  in  the  other  case,  so 
near  as  could  be  determined  in  the  difficult  process  of  hand-dredg¬ 
ing,  in  a  gravelly  deposit  mixed  with  large  boulders. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  reproduction  of  a  pho¬ 
tograph  taken  at  dredging-station  B  (seep.  8).  This  picture  was 
taken  some  months  after  the  bank  had  been  sliced  aw  a}7,  a  few  of 
the  piles  being  removed  to  study  their  geological  position.  The 
negative  was  not  satisfactory,  and  later  other  photographs  were 
taken.  But  little  change  had  taken  place  in  the  position  of  the 
piles  subjected  to  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide,  as  they  were  in 
a  measure  protected  by  the  water-grass  and  spatter-docks  that 
grew  up  around  them  after  the  section  of  the  creek’s  bank  had  been 
removed. 


1 A  yellow  sand  resembling  that  underlying  the  Red  gravel  of  Lewis  at  Philadelphia 
has  been  remarked  at  Mr.  Lob  dell’s,  also  in  wells  dug  at  Marcus  Hook,  Pa.  Traces  of 
this  yellow  sand  and  gravel  are  not  wanting  in  the  vicinity  of  Naaman’s  creek. 

216 


IN  NAAMAN’s  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


11 


A  copy  of  a  pencil  sketch  will  better  suggest  how  the  wooden 
stakes  or  pile-ends  looked  when  first  examined  (profile) . 


(7,  the  creek  ;  S,  the  wooden  stakes  covered  by  alluvial  deposits  ; 
B,  the  mud  bank  on  the  side  of  Naaman’s  creek  ;  the  lines  show 
the  stakes  below  the  mud,  and  the  dark  tops  indicate  how  little 
they  projected  above  it. 


The  second  sketch  shows  the  method  pursued  at  low  tide  in 
trenching  away  the  side  of  the  bank  and  exposing  the  wooden 
structures.  A  slanting  cut  was  made,  a  few  feet  in  depth,  from  W 
to  A ,  W  to  F  and  P  to  B. 

The  profile  sketch  on  the  next  page,  taken  in  this  connection, 
shows  the  geological  position  of  the  wooden  structures. 

A,  B  and  C  indicate  the  position  of  the  three  dredging  stations  ; 
the  dotted  lines  the  relic  beds  surrounding  them.  The  exact  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  wooden  pile-ends  could  be  determined  at  B,  but  at  C 
and  A  the  positions  were  determined  with  less  accuracy,  as  they 
were  on  an  average  about  two  to  two  and  a  half  feet  beneath  the 
alluvial  deposits  of  the  creek  and  had  to  be  probed  for  with  a  long, 

217 


■<  * 


12 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES 


iron  rod.  This  process  required  great  care,  as  the  rod  easily  pen¬ 
etrated  the  soft  wooden  ends.  The  hand-dredge  served  to  deter¬ 
mine  the  area  of  the  relic-beds  from  which  was  obtained  the 
interesting  collection  now  on  exhibition  in  the  Peabody  Museum. 
X,  Y and  Z  show  the  outlines  of  the  alluvial  deposits,  peat-beds 
and  underlying  clays  and  gravels. 


Indications  of  an  attempt  to  sharpen  the  ends  of  the  stakes  are 
not  wanting,  as  shown  in  the  following  reproduction  of  a  photograph 
of  the  best  preserved  in  the  collection,  and  suggest  that  this  was 
probably  accomplished  by  a  cutting  instrument  of  stone. 


r  \ 


Pile-ends  after  removal  from  dredging  station  B,  Naaman’s  creek.  From  a  pho¬ 
tograph  of  specimens  in  the  Peabody  Museum. 


Wedge-posts,  as  shown  in  figure  on  next  page,  were  also  used  to 
strengthen  the  wooden  structures,  a  necessary  precaution  from  the 
fact  that  during  the  spring  rains  the  waters  of  the  creek  are  largely 
increased  in  volume  and  during  the  ebb  tide  push  out  with  great 


218 


IN  NAAMAN’S  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


IB 


force.  This  strong  current  probably  accounts  for  the  existing  gaps 
that  occur  between  dredging-stations  A,  B  and  C,  the  pile-ends  be¬ 
tween  the  points  C  to  A  and  A  to  B  (see  figure,  p.  12),  having 
been  carried  away  since  they  were  abandoned  by  the  people.  The 
preservation  of  those  at  dredging-stations  A  and  C  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  while  the  upper  portions  of  the  piles  have  rotted  away, 
the  ends  have  been  preserved  in  the  bastard  peat  and  alluvial  de¬ 
posits  which  covered  them.  The  superior  condition  and  length  of 
the  piles  secured  at  station  B  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  shelv¬ 
ing  nature  of  the  bank  and  the  mass  of  water  plants  that  in  a  great 
measure  protected  them  from  injury. 


A  is  a  pile-end  in  position;  B  is  a  wedge  stake  driven  into  the  mud  alongside  of  it. 


The  fact  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  present  mouth  of  the 
creek  is  not  as  it  was  in  bygone  times.  Alluvial  deposits  extend 
a  considerable  distance  northeast  and  southwest  of  the  present 
mouth,  in  what  are  now  swampy  meadows  which  have  been  re¬ 
claimed  by  dykes  from  encroachments  of  the  waters  of  the  Dela¬ 
ware.  It  is  not  improbable  that  these  wooden  structures  occupied 
a  central  position  in  the  areas  either  covered  with  water  or  subject 
to  overflow,  or  else  that  the  existing  hard  clay-bed  around  and  to 
eastward  of  station  B  was  an  islet  forming  an  elevation  of  dry  land 
suitable  for  a  camping-place  of  the  fishing  community. 

A  better  idea  of  this  may  be  had  by  reference  to  the  pen  sketch 
on  page  14.  F  and  E  are  the  beds  of  clay  projecting  beyond  the 
dykes,  P.  G  is  a  large  area  of  swamp  land,  with  a  black  muck 
or  bastard  peat  soil,  mixed  into  alluvial  deposits.  It  now  forms  a 
part  of  the  Clyde  estate.  L  is  upon  the  Richmond  property  occu¬ 
pying  the  north  side  of  Naaman’s  creek;  the  area  of  overflow  is 
not  so  great  on  this  side  toward  the  north  but  bends  towards  Mar¬ 
cus  Hook  to  the  eastward.  The  present  position  of  Naaman’s 
creek  bed  is  indicated  by  MM.  H  is  an  elevation  of  clay  that  over¬ 
looks  G  from  the  west.  /  is  a  small  islet  surrounded  by  a  ditch 


219 


14 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES 


K  which  1ms  in  recent  times  been  used  by  the  firm  of  George 
Churchman  &  Sons  as  a  log  boom.  The  width  of  the  water-way 
around  I  was  considerably  enlarged  and  deepened  bjr  the  Messrs. 
Churchman,  so  as  to  better  float  timber  ;  and  the  material  dug  from 
it  for  dyking  may  also  have  increased  its  size.  The  late  George 
Lodge,  Esq.,  of  Claymont,  Del.,  a  well-known  and  respected  citi¬ 


zen  who  was  acquainted  with  the  traditions  of  the  neighborhoo'd 
in  which  he  was  born,  once  related  to  me  that  Wertmiiller  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  court  painter,  an  exile  from  the  court  of  Louis  XVI, 
who  formerly  owned  this  property  and  died  in  the  old  Clyde  home¬ 
stead,  stated  that  he  had  been  told  by  a  Delaware  Indian  that  this 
was  a  ditch  in  which  his  ancestors  the  Lenapi  used  to  hide  their  ca¬ 
noes  when  they  came  to  catch  fish  at  the  creek’s  mouth.  When 
220 


IN  NAAMAN  S  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


15 


Prof.  G.  F.  Wright,  the  distinguished  glacialist,  visited  this  lo¬ 
cality,  his  attention  was  called  to  this  islet  and  ditch,  and  the  posi¬ 
tion  and  character  of  the  same  seemed  to  impress  him  with  the 
probability  of  aboriginal  origin.  If  it  had  been  the  work  of  the 
white  man  it  is  not  probable  he  would  have  left  the  islet  that  stands 
in  the  centre.  It  seems  improbable  that  any  one  would  have  taken 
the  trouble  when  the  land  was  dyked  to  run  the  banks  around  a 
spot  of  this  kind  unless  a  ditch  of  considerable  depth  had  previously 
existed  there.  If  it  was  dug  for  a  log  boom,  in  later  times,  it  is 
a  singular  circumstance  that  the  entire  area  of  M,  /,  K  (see  sketch) 
was  not  excavated.  Its  shape  and  its  position  at  the  side  of  the 
creek  recall  similar  excavations  that  have  been  quoted  by  my 
friend,  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Rau  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
If  the  mouth  of  this  artificial  excavation  had  been  closed  by  pilings 
interlaced  by  wattlings  similar  to  those  remains  discovered  further 
to  the  eastward,  at  the  creek’s  mouth,  an  admirable  fish  preserve 
would  have  been  the  result.  Dr.  Rau,  in  a  visit  to  this  locality 
shortly  before  his  death,  deemed  it  to  be  of  aboriginal  origin. 


221 


16 


REPORT  UPON  PILE-STRUCTURES 


shown  in  the  diagram  on  page  15,  and  so  near  as  could  be  de¬ 
termined  by  pile-ends  located  at  the  various  dredging  spots  or 
stations,  A,  B,  C,  the  piles  were  placed  about  six  inches  apart  and 
in  the  following  order  : 


Withes  of  wicker  work  could  have  been  slipped  between  these 
piles  as  suggested  by  sketch  _Z>,  thus  forming  a  sufficient  obstruction 
to  drive  the  fish  toward  B,  page  15,  where,  for  reasons  already 
given,  the  water  was  more  shallow,  or  a  shelving  bank  of  clay  af¬ 
forded  a  better  opportunity  to  the  aboriginal  fisherman  to  pierce 
them  with  his  spear  or  arrow.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  be  con¬ 
sidered  that  the  structures  were  simply  wooden  enclosures  surround¬ 
ing  a  habitation  site  now  covered  by  the  waters  of  Naaman’s  creek, 
and  that  the  original  waters  of  the  creek  were  further  to  the  north¬ 
east  or  southeast,  as  the  case  may  be,  then  we  cannot  account  for 
the  position  and  kind  of  implements  that  have  been  dredged  from 
around  A,  B,  C,  for  they  were  found  at  various  depths  in  the  peat 
and  alluvial  deposits  and  suggest  implements  used  by  a  people  re¬ 
sorting  to  this  locality  to  fish.  The  collection  forwarded  to  the 
Museum  by  the  various  gentlemen  interested  in  the  exploration  also 
suggests  this.  Most  of  the  arrow-points  are  similar  to  those  found 
among  the  shellheaps  of  Cape  Henlopen. 

Among  other  interesting  implements  presented  to  the  Peabody 
Museum  is  a  large  stone  maul  that  differs  from  our  usual  Ameri¬ 
can  types  of  such  implements  in  the  fact  of  its  having  a  hole  drilled 
through  it  for  the  insertion  of  a  handle  or  a  withe.  Three  of  these 
implements  were  found. 

A  difference  in  the  character  of  the  objects  dredged  from  the 
various  spots  shown  in  the  plan  above,  A ,  B  and  C,  is  worthy  of 
remark.  At  B  pottery  was  found,  and  in  the  material  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  stone  implements,  jasper  and  quartz  predominate. 
Implements  of  argillite,  it  is  true,  were  also  found,  but  they  were 
few  in  number  and  of  better  finish  than  those  dredged  from  A  and 
C.  At  these  last  two  stations  there  were  but  few  implements  of 


222 


IN  NAAMAN’s  CREEK,  DELAWARE. 


17 


jasper,  quartz  or  any  flint-like  material.  Pottery  and  fragments 
of  bone  implements  were  found  only  at  B. 

Prof.  Henry  W.  Haynes  agrees  with  Professor  Putnam1  in  his  be¬ 
lief  that  “  the  fact  that  at  only  one  station  pottery  occurs  and  also 
that  at  this  station  the  stone  implements  are  largely  of  jasper  and 
quartz  with  few  of  argillite,  while  at  the  two  other  stations  many 
rude  stone  implements  are  associated  with  chipped  points  of  argil¬ 
lite,  with  few  of  jasper  and  other  flint-like  material,  is  of  great  in¬ 
terest.”  Professor  Haynes,  likewise,  deems  it  safe  to  consider  them 
as  ancient  aboriginal  fish-weirs  rather  than  the  remains  of  a  pile¬ 
dwelling  people.  This,  then,  but  confirms  the  words  of  the  fisher¬ 
man  who  first  brought  the  stone  implements  to  notice  when  he  sug¬ 
gested  that  “  the  Indians,  in  old  times,  used  to  hitch  their  canoes 
to  them  and  spear  fish,  and  that  this  was  the  reason  why  their 
darts,  axes  and  such  like  were  found  around  there.” 

Fish-weirs  have  been  mentioned  by  certain  early  explorers  on 
this  continent  and  remains  resembling  such  structures  have  been 
referred  to  by  more  modern  writers.2 

That  these  pile-structures  discovered  at  the  mouth  of  Naaman’s 
creek  originally  formed  aboriginal  fish-weirs,  is  but  a  conjecture,  it 
is  true ;  but  from  a  study  of  the  material  obtained  from  the  three 
dredging-stations,  and  now  in  the  Peabody  Museum,  it  may  be 
granted  that  the  assumption  is  not  unwarranted. 

1  Report  Peabody  Museum,  Vol.  IV,  p.  45, 1888. 

2  See  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  Vol.  xxv,  Prehistoric  Fishing  in 
Europe  and  North  America,  by  Charles  Rau,  p.  284,  De  Bry  et  at. 

223 


P.  M.  PAPERS  1.  15. 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


The  following  summary  from  the  museum  catalogue  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  collection  now  arranged  in  the  Peabody  Museum  where  it  can 
be  seen  by  all  interested. 


Nos.  44,281-6 
“  44,287 
“  44,288-301 

“  44,302-8 
“  44,309 
“  44,310 
“  44,311 
“  44,312-64 


Nos.  45,252 
“  45,253 
“  45,254 
“  45,255 
“  45,256 
“  45,257-8 
“  45,259 
“  45,260 
“  45,261 
“  45,262 
“  45,263 
“  45,264 
“  45,265 
“  45,266 
“  45,267 
“  45,268 
“  45,269 
“  45,270 


FROM  STATION  A. 

15  broken  masses  of  argillite,  quartz  and  other  rocks. 

2  stone  chips. 

17  chipped  stones  of  various  kinds,  several  being  split 
pebbles. 

9  rude  celt-like  implements. 

3  notched  stone,  sinkers. 

3  pitted  stones. 

1  hammer  stone. 

53  chipped  pointed  implements,  mostly  of  argillite  but 
a  few  of  quartzite  and  other  stones.  Also  a  few 
flakes. 

103  specimens  from  station  A. 

STATION  B. 

1  grooved  stone,  axe  shape. 

1  discoidal  pebble,  perforated. 

1  large  chipped  pointed  implement  of  jasper. 

1  large  chipped  pointed  implement  of  granite. 

1  chipped  pebble,  jasper. 

2  chipped  points,  slate. 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

1  hammerstone,  pebble,  pitted. 

1  chipped  point,  slate. 

1  split  pebble. 

1  jasper  flake,  chipped. 

1  chipped  implement,  jasper. 

1  natural  stone. 

1  chipped  implement,  jasper. 

1  chipped  implement,  quartz. 

1  hammerstone. 

1  small  argillite  implement,  with  groove. 

1  jasper  flake. 


224 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


19 


Nos.  45,271 
“  45,272 

“  45,273 
“  45,274 
“  45,275 
“  45,276 
“  45,277 
“  45,278-9 
“  45,280 
“  45,281 
“  45,282 

“  45,283 
“  45,284 
“  45,285 
“  45,286 
“  45,287 
“  45,288 
“  45,289 
“  45,290 
“  45,291 
“  45,292 

“  45,293 
“  45,294-6 
“  45,297 
“  45,298 
“  45,299 
“  45,300-301 
“  45,302 
“  45,303 
“  45,304 
“  45,305 
“  45,306 
“  45,307 
“  45,308 
“  45,309 
“  45,310 
“  45,311-314 
“  45,315-316 
“  45,317 
“  45,318 
“  45,319 
“  45,320 
“  45,321-4 
“  45,325 
“  45,326 
“  45,327 
“  45,328 


1  chipped  point,  slate. 

1  chipped  scraper,  jasper. 

1  long  point,  slate. 

1  chipped  piece  of  slate. 

1  broken  piece  of  granite. 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

1  rude,  grooved  axe-like  weapon. 

2  chipped  points,  slate. 

1  large  chipped  jasper  implement. 

1  chipped  jasper  flake. 

1  broken  nodule  of  flint. 

1  perforated  pebble. 

1  notched  pebble,  sinker. 

1  chipped  pointed  jasper  flake. 

1  grooved  stone,  sinker. 

1  chipped  slate  point,  process  of  manufacture. 

1  rude  stone  axe,  grooved.  . 

1  notched  pebble,  sinker. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

1  chipped  jasper  implement. 

1  chipped  jasper  flake. 

1  pitted  hammerstone. 

3  chipped  slate  points. 

1  chipped  jasper  point. 

1  jasper  pebble. 

1  celt  made  from  jasper  pebble. 

2  chipped  stone  points. 

1  chipped  jasper  flake  scraper. 

1  chipped  stone  implement. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

1  chipped  jasper  point,  failure. 

1  jasper  flake. 

1  chipped  jasper  point. 

1  quartz  flake. 

1  grooved  pebble. 

1  chipped  jasper  implement. 

4  chipped  stone  points. 

2  jasper  flakes. 

1  chipped  jasper  scraper. 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

1  flint  flake,  chipped  edges. 

1  chipped  flint  implement,  process  of  manufacture. 
4  chipped  jasper  flakes. 

1  notched  pebble,  sinker. 

1  jasper  flake. 

1  quartz  flake. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 


225 


20 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


Nos.  45,329-332 
“  45,333-334 
“  45,335 
“  45,336 
“  45,337-8 
“  45,339 
“  45,340 
“  45,341 

“  45,342 
“  45,343 
“  45,344-345 
“  45,846 
“  45,347 
“  45,348-9 
“  45,350 
“  45,351 
“  45,352 
“  45,353 
“  45,354 
“  45,355-6 
“  45,357 
“  45,358 
“  45,359 
“  45,360-361 
“  45,362 
“  45,363-4 
“  45,365 
“  45.36G 
“  45,367 
“  45,368-9 
“  45,370 
“  45,371 
“  45,372-3 
“  45,374 
“  45,375 
“  45,376 
“  45  377 
“  45,378-380 
“  45,381-2 

“  45,3S3 
“  45,384 
“  45,385 
“  45,386 

“  45,387 
“  45,38S 
“  45,389 
“  45,390 


4  slate  points. 

2  jasper  flakes,  chipped  edges. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

1  chipped  pebble,  sinker. 

2  chipped  stone  points. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

1  notched  pebble,  sinker. 

1  chipped  jasper  point,  one  edge  serrated. 
1  chipped  stone  point. 

1  chipped  jasper  implement. 

2  chipped  jasper  pebbles. 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

1  chipped  jasper  implement. 

2  chipped  stone  points. 

1  chipped  jasper  point. 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

1  jasper  point. 

1  slate  point. 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

2  argillite  points. 

1  slate  point. 

1  jasper  point. 

1  chipped  jasper  implement. 

2  slate  points. 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

2  jasper  points. 

1  slate  point. 

1  stone  point. 

1  argillite  drill. 

2  natural  stones. 

1  argillite  point. 

1  chipped  slate  implement. 

2  chipped  jasper  flakes. 

1  argillite  point. 

1  chipped  slate  implement. 

1  argillite  point. 

1  jasper  point. 

3  jasper  flakes,  chipped. 

2  jasper  points. 

1  jasper  flake. 

1  jasper  implement,  discoidaL 
1  chipped  slate  point. 

1  quart/,  implement. 

1  splinter  of  argillite. 

1  flake  of  argillite. 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

1  chipped  piece  of  argillite. 


226 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS 


21 


Nos.  45,391-2 

2  argillite  flakes. 

“  45,393 

1  chipped  piece  of  argillite. 

“  45,394 

1  argillite  flake. 

“  45,395 

1  argillite  point. 

“  45,396 

1  argillite  flake,  chipped. 

“  45,397 

1  chipped  point,  quartz. 

“  45,398 

1  chipped  point,  chert. 

“  45,399-400 

2  chipped  points,  argillite. 

“  45,401 

1  chipped  implement  in  process  manufacture. 

“  45,402-3 

2  chipped  slate  points  in  process  manufacture. 

“  45,404 

1  slate  flake. 

“  45,405 

1  long  slate  implement. 

“  45,406 

1  point  of  slate,  implement. 

“  45,407 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

“  45,408-9 

2  chipped  argillite  points. 

“  45,410 

1  argillite  flake. 

“  45,411 

1  curved  stone,  natural. 

“  45,412 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

“  45,413 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

“  45,414-420 

7  chipped  slate  points. 

“  45,421 

1  slate  flake. 

“  45,422 

1  chipped  jasper  point. 

“  45,423 

1  slate  flake  point. 

“  45,424 

1  chipped  slate  flake. 

“  45,425 

1  argillite  perforator. 

“  45,426 

1  stone  flake,  chipped. 

“  45,427 

1  slate  point,  chipped. 

“  45,428 

1  slate  flake. 

“  45,429 

1  slate  point,  chipped. 

“  45,430 

1  long  slate  point,  chipped. 

“  45,431 

1  slender  slate  point,  chipped. 

“  45,432 

1  small  slate  point,  chipped. 

“  45,433 

1  slate  point,  perforator. 

“  45,434 

1  stone,  much  decomposed. 

“  45,435 

1  large  stone  flake,  pointed. 

“  45,436 

1  chipped  slate  pebble. 

“  45,437-441 

5  chipped  pieces  of  slate. 

“  45,442 

1  hammerstone,  pitted  pebble. 

“  45,443 

1  hammerstone,  pebble. 

“  45,444 

1  pebble,  chipped  on  one  edge. 

“  45,445 

1  slate  arrowpoint. 

“  45,446 

1  jasper  point. 

“  45,447 

1  curved  stone,  natural. 

“  45,448 

1  jasper  point,  process  of  chipping. 

“  45,449 

1  jasper  point. 

“  45,450 

1  curved  piece  of  stone,  natural. 

“  45,451 

1  fragment  chipped  slate  point. 

227 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


45,452-3 

2  jasper  points,  process  of  manufacture. 

45,454 

1  stoue  point,  process  of  manufacture. 

45,455-6 

2  chert  arrowpoints. 

45,457 

1  jasper  flake. 

45,458 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

45,459 

1  chipped  point,  chert. 

45,460 

1  chipped  piece  of  slate. 

45,461 

1  splinter  of  argillite. 

45,462 

1  flake  of  argillite. 

45,463 

1  chipped  point,  argillite. 

45,464-5 

1  chipped  point  argillite,  much  decomposed. 

45,466 

1  chipped  point  quartz. 

45,467 

1  chipped  slate  arrowpoint. 

45,468 

2  chipped  stone  points. 

45,469 

1  potsherd,  incised  ornament. 

45,470 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

45,471 

1  argillite  flake. 

45,472 

1  stone  flake. 

45,473 

1  quartz  flake. 

45,474 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

45,475 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

45,476 

1  chipped  stone  point,  process  of  manufacture. 

45,477 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

45,478 

1  quartz  flake. 

45,479 

1  chipped  stone  arrow  point. 

45,480 

2  chert  points,  process  of  manufacture. 

45.4S1 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

45,482 

1  quartz  point. 

45,483 

1  chert  point. 

45,484 

1  jasper  point,  chipped. 

45,485 

1  fragment  grooved  stone  axe. 

45,486 

1  stone  hammer,  pebble  roughly  grooved. 

45,487 

1  grooved  stone  axe,  one-half. 

45,488 

1  chipped  pebble. 

45,489 

1  stone  celt. 

45,490 

1  stone  celt  made  from  pebble. 

45,491 

1  stone  celt,  chipped. 

45,492 

1  chipped  mass  of  argillite. 

45,493 

1  stone  celt. 

45,494 

1  slate  celt,  process  of  manufacture. 

45,495 

1  stone  celt  chipped. 

45,496 

1  rude  stone  implement. 

45,497 

1  stone  flake. 

.45,498-500 

3  large  slate  points,  portions. 

45,501 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

45,502 

1  chipped  slate  pebble. 

45,503 

1  grooved  stone  implement,  fragment. 

LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


23 


Nos.  45,504 

1  slate  flake. 

“  45,505 

1  grooved  stone. 

“  45,506 

1  chipped  piece  of  slate. 

“  45,507 

1  jasper  scraper. 

“  45,508 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

“  45,509-10 

2  chipped  pieces  of  slate. 

“  45,511 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

“  45,512-13 

2  chipped  stone  points. 

“  45,514 

1  chipped  slate  implement. 

“  45,515 

1  chipped  jasper  pebble. 

“  45,516 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

“  45,517 

1  natural  pebble. 

“  45,518 

1  slate  flake. 

“  45,519 

1  jasper  flake,  chipped,  peculiar  shape. 

“  45,520 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

“  45,521 

1  chipped  slate  point. 

“  45,522 

1  chipped  jasper  point. 

“  45,523 

1  chipped  argillite  point. 

“  45,524-5 

2  chipped  jasper  points. 

“  45,526 

3  potsherds. 

“  45,527-537 

12  potsherds. 

“  45,528-549 

84  splinters  of  bone. 

“  45,550 

1  chipped  jasper  implement,  process  of 

“  45,551 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

“  45,552 

1  jasper  flake,  trimmed. 

“  45,553 

1  chipped  piece  of  jasper. 

“  45,554 

1  chipped  stone  point. 

“  45,555 

1  chipped  point  (chert?)  knife. 

“  45,562 

9  pile  ends.  ) 

“  45,563 

1  chipped  chert  knife.  j 

“  45,564 

1  chipped  slate  implement.  J  Collecl 

9  chipped  slate  points.  i  presen 

“  45,565-573 

“  45,574 

2  chipped  slate  points,  broken.  |  Mr.  A 

“  45,575 

1  piece  of  slate.  J 

“  45,576 

1  potsherd.  Collected  and  presented  b 
Thompson. 

404  specimens  from  station  B. 

STATION  C. 

Nos.  44,365-68 

11  broken  pieces  of  stone. 

“  44,369-73 

7  rude  stone  implements. 

“  44,374-75 

2  stone  flakes. 

“  44,376 

1  large  argillite  flake. 

“  44,377 

4  broken  pieces  of  stone. 

“  44,378 

1  pitted  stone. 

“  44,379 

1  notched  stone,  sinker. 

W.  R. 


229 


24 


LIST  OF  SPECIMENS. 


Nos.  44,380-381 
“  44,382-84 
“  44,385-400 
“  44,401-34 
“  44,435 

“  44,436 

“  45,556 
“  45,557-8 
“  45,259 
“  45,260 
“  45,261 


2  chipped  masses  of  stone,  one  of  jasper. 

3  stone  celts,  one  in  process  of  manufacture. 

16  rudely  chipped  implements. 

34  chipped  pointed  implements. 

chipped  jasper  pointed  implement,  collected  by  Mr. 

Thomas  Whalen,  Aug.  18,  1881. 

1  large  oval  pebble,  maul  with  hole  through  centre, 
presented  by  W.  E.  Thompson,  collected  in  1884. 

1  chipped  stone. 

2  chipped  points,  argillite. 

1  slate  flake. 

1  chipped  slate  knife. 

6  slate  flakes. 

95  specimens  from  station  C. 

Total  number  of  specimens,  602. 


230 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MUSEUM. 

—  Harvard  University  — 

Vol.  I.  No.  5. 


A  STUDY  OF 

OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC 

BY- 

ALICE  C.  FLETCHER, 

Assistant  in  American  Ethnology,  Peabody  Museum,  and 

HOLDER  OF  THE  THAW  FELLOWSHIP. 

AIDED  BY 

FRANCIS  LA  FLESCHE. 

WITH  A 

REPORT  ON  THE 

STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC 

BY 

JOHN  COMFORT  FILLMORE,  A.M. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY. 
June,  1893. 


PRINTED  AT 

THE  SALEM  PliESS. 
1803. 


Copyrighted  by  the 

Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology. 

1S93. 


Jltrs.  ftlarg  Copley  ®l)arD, 
taijosc  unfailing  interest  in  tljese  researches  l)as  maire 
possible  tl)e  completion  of  %  toork, 
tl)is  monograph  an  ©mal)a  Indian  Jttusic 
is  gratefully  bebicateb. 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


In  this  paper  Miss  Fletcher  has  treated  the  subject  of  Indian 
music  in  a  manner  both  novel  and  instructive.  Her  long  residence 
among  the  Indians  and  her  success  in  winning  their  love  and  per¬ 
fect  confidence  have  enabled  her  to  penetrate  the  meaning  of  many 
things  which  to  an  ordinary  observer  of  Indian  life  are  incomprehen¬ 
sible.  She  is  able  to  put  herself  mentally  in  the  Indians’  place 
and  regard  them  and  their  acts  from  their  own  standpoint.  It  is 
this  which  gives  importance  to  all  that  Miss  Fletcher  writes.  She 
describes  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  her  Indian  friends  as  they  would 
describe  them,  while  her  scientific  training  leads  her  to  analytical 
work  and  thence  to  an  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  what  she 
sees  and  hears.  The  present  memoir  is  therefore  to  be  taken  as 
the  work  of  one  who  has  conscientiously  studied  the  subject  and 
after  years  of  patient  investigation  has  presented  it  in  a  form  which 
can  readily  be  comprehended  by  others.  No  doubt  some  critical 
student  of  music  and  of  its  primitive  expressions  will  question 
Miss  Fletcher’s  conclusions,  particularly  her  method  of  presenta¬ 
tion  and  her  views  upon  the  existence  of  harmony ;  but  such  crit¬ 
icism  will  be  shorn  of  its  force  unless  the  critic  has  made  an  equally 
careful  study  of  the  subject  among  the  people  and  can  show  as 
good  reasons  for  a  different  opinion. 

The  technical  questions  involved  are  so  well  expressed  and  dis- 

O) 


VI 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


cussed  by  Professor  Fillmore  in  bis  “report”  following  Miss  Fletch¬ 
er’s  paper  that  the  whole  subject  is  now  placed  fairly  before  students 
for  their  consideration. 

On  reading  the  manuscript  of  this  joint  work  of  Miss  Fletcher 
and  Mr.  La  Flesche  and  the  critical  analysis  by  Professor  Fillmore, 
I  became  impressed  with  the  scientific  value  of  the  memoir  and 
consequently  take  pleasure  in  issuing  it  in  the  series  of  Museum 
Papers. 

This  publication,  however,  would  not  have  been  possible  at  pres¬ 
ent  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  assistance  of  Mrs.  Mary  Copley 
Thaw  who,  in  appreciation  of  Miss  Fletcher  and  her  work,  has 
founded  the  fellowship  which  enables  Miss  Fletcher  to  devote  the 
remainder  of  her  life  to  the  preparation  of  her  Indian  memoirs. 
For  this  act  and  example  ethnologists  will  ever  be  grateful  to  Mrs. 
Thaw. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum. 

Cambridge,  June  17,  1893. 


.  A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


After  more  than  ten  years  of  constant  study,  during  which  I 
have  had  the  invaluable  aid  of  Mr.  Francis  La  Flksche  and  the 
technical  council  and  assistance  of  Miss  Sarah  Eliot  Newman  and 
Prof.  John  Comfort  Fillmore,  I  no  longer  hesitate  to  present  to 
the  public  the  following  collection  of  Omaha  Indian  Songs,  feeling 
confident  that  therein  is  truthfully  set  forth  in  a  manner  intelligible 
to  members  of  my  own  race  the  Indian’s  mode  of  expressing  emo¬ 
tion  in  musical  forms. 

I  well  remember  my  first  experience  in  listening  to  Indian  music. 
Although  from  habit  as  a  student  I  had  endeavored  to  divest  my¬ 
self  of  preconceived  ideas,  and  to  rise  above  prejudice  and  distaste, 
I  found  it  difficult  to  penetrate  beneath  the  noise  and  hear  what  the 
people  were  trying  to  express.  I  think  I  may  safely  say  that  I 
heard  little  or  nothing  of  Indian  music  the  first  three  or  four  times 
that  I  attended  dances  or  festivals,  beyond  a  screaming  downward 
movement  that  was  gashed  and  torn  by  the  vehemently  beaten  drum. 
The  sound  was  distressing,  and  my  interest  in  this  music  was  not 
aroused  until  I  perceived  that  this  distress  was  peculiar^  my  own, 
every  one  else  was  so  enjoying  himself  (I  was  the  only  one  of  my 
race  present)  that  I  felt  sure  something  was  eluding  my  ears  ;  it 
was  not  rational  that  human  beings  should  scream  for  hours,  look¬ 
ing  and  acting  as  did  these  Indians  before  me,  and  the  sounds  they 
made  not  mean  something  more  than  mere  noise.  I  therefore  began 
to  listen  below  this  noise,  much  as  one  must  listen  to  the  phonograph, 
ignoring  the  sound  of  the  machinery  before  the  registered  tones  of 
the  voice  are  caught.  I  have  since  watched  Indians  laboring  with 
a  like  difficulty  when  their  songs  were  rendered  to  them  upon  the 
piano  ;  their  ears  were  accustomed  to  the  portamento  of  the  voice  in 
the  song,  which  was  broken  up  by  the  hammers  of  the  instrument 
on  the  strings,  producing  such  confusion  of  sound  that  it  was  hard 
for  the  Indians  to  hear  and  recognize  the  tune.  My  efforts  in  listen- 


237 


8 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


ing  below  the  noise  were  rewarded  by  my  hearing  the  music,  and  I 
discovered  that  there  was  in  these  Indian  songs  matter  worth  study 
and  record. 

My  first  studies  were  crude  and  full  of  difficulties,  difficulties  that 
I  afterward  learned  were  bred  of  preconceived  ideas,  the  influence 
of  generally  accepted  theories  concerning  “savage”  music.  The 
tones,  the  scales,  the  rhythms,  the  melodies  that  I  heard,  which  after 
months  of  work  stood  out  more  and  more  clearly  as  indisputable 
facts,  lay  athwart  these  theories  and  could  not  be  made  to  coincide 
with  them.  For  a  considerable  time  I  was  more  inclined  to  distrust 
my  ears  than  my  theories,  but  when  I  strove  to  find  facts  that  would 
agree  with  these  theories  I  met  only  failure.  Meanwhile  the  Indi¬ 
ans  sang  on,  and  I  faithfully  noted  their  songs,  studying  their  char¬ 
acter  and  their  relation  to  Indian  life  and  ceremonial.  During  these 
investigations  I  was  stricken  with  a  severe  illness  and  lay  for 
months  ministered  to  in  part  by  Indian  friends.  While  I  was  thus 
shut  in  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  with  the  Indians  coming  and 
going  about  me  in  their  affectionate  solicitude,  they  would  often  at 
my  request  sing  for  me.  The}'  sang  softly  because  I  was  weak, 
and  there  was  no  drum,  and  then  it  was  that  the  distraction  of  noise 
and  confusion  of  theory  were  dispelled,  and  the  sweetness,  the 
beauty  and  meaning  of  these  songs  were  revealed  to  me.  As  I 
grew  stronger  1  was  taught  them,  and  sang  them  with  my  Indian 
friends,  and  when  I  was  able  to  be  carried  about,  my  returning 
health  was  celebrated  by  the  exemplification  of  the  Wa-wan1  cere¬ 
mony  with  its  music. 

The  ceremony  took  place  in  a  large  earth  lodge  tivo  or  three  miles 
distant.  I  was  laid  in  the  bottom  of  a  wagon  and  driven  along  the 
bluff’s  of  the  Missouri  river,  overtaking  men,  women  and  children 
on  their  ponies  all  headed  toward  the  lodge,  where  we  arrived  just 
as  the  sun  dropped  like  a  red  ball  below  the  horizon.  A  few  old 
men  were  sitting  on  the  dome-like  roof,  while  boys  and  dogs  chased 
each  other  up  the  grass}’,  flowery  sides  of  the  picturesque  dwelling. 
At  the  door  of  the  long  projection  forming  the  entrance  to  the  lodge 
stood  friends  ready  to  welcome  me.  I  was  lifted  carefully  from  the 
wagon  bed,  borne  by  strong  arms  within  and  placed  on  a  sort  of 
lounge  made  of  skins  arranged  nearly  opposite  the  entrance.  The 
people  gathered  by  scores  until  between  two  and  three  hundred 
were  seated  around  the  central  fire  that  leaped  up  brightly  making 
1  The  italicized  ra  has  a  nasal  sound  as  in  the  French  word  era. 

23S 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


9 


tlie  blackened  roof  of  poles  shine  like  polished  ebony.  Every  one 
was  glad  and  welcomed  me  with  no  uncertain  word  or  glance.  Soon 
I  heard  the  cadences  of  the  ceremonial  Song  of  Approach.  I  knew 
the  tune,  I  had  been  taught  it  in  my  sickness,  and  now  I  listened 
understandingly  to  the  familiar  strains  as  they  came  nearer  and 
nearer  until  the  bearers  of  the  Pipes  of  Fellowship  were  seen  coming 
down  the  long  entrance  way,  waving  the  feather  pendants  of  the 
Calumets  they  bore.  As  they  turned  into  the  lodge  the  whole  people 
took  up  the  song  and  I  too  joined,  able  at  last  to  hear  and  compre¬ 
hend  the  music  that  had  through  all  my  difficulties  fascinated  even 
while  it  eluded  me.  The  occasion  of  this  exemplification  was  one  I 
can  never  forget,  not  only  because  of  the  insight  it  gave  me  into  the 
music  of  the  people  and  the  meaning  of  the  ceremony  I  witnessed, 
but  because  of  its  deeper  revelation  of  the  heart  and  inner  life  of 
the  Indian.  From  that  time  forth  I  ceased  to  trouble  about  theo¬ 
ries  of  scales,  tones,  rhythm  and  melody,  and  trusted  the  facts 
which  daily  accumulated  in  my  willing  hands. 

I  have  transcribed  several  hundreds  of  Omaha  songs,  and  have 
also  taken  down  songs  of  the  Dakotas,  Otoes  and  Poncas,  tribes 
belonging  to  the  same  linguistic  family  as  the  Omahas.  The  Paw¬ 
nees  are  of  another  stock  and  their  songs,  of  which  I  have  a  number, 
present  shades  of  difference  that  may  become  more  defined  when  I 
have  worked  over  a  larger  collection  of  their  music  ;  the  songs  of 
the  Nez  Perce  of  Idaho  also  show  differences  that  are  interesting; 
and  well  worth  study,  but  these  songs  from  different  stocks  have  in 
them  nothing  radically  divergent  from  the  music  of  the  Omahas, 
so  that  the  facts  herein  set  forth  would  seem  to  pertain  to  the  music 
of  various  linguistic  families. 

Indian  songs  I  have  discovered  travel  far,  and  those  of  one  tribe 
are  soon  at  home  in  another.  There  seems  to  have  been  quite  an 
extended  acquaintance  between  tribes,  the  Rocky  Mountains  prov¬ 
ing  no  serious  barrier.  Customs  and  songs  borrowed  from  the  Crow 
Indians  have  obtained  for  a  century  at  least  among  the  Nez  Perce. 
Dakota  songs  are  also  found  there  with  an  equally  remote  intro¬ 
duction.  The  Omahas  took  from  the  Sioux  the  Ma-wa-da-ne  songs, 
and  from  the  Otoe,  the  Hae-ka-ne.  The  Dakotas  appropriated  the 
Omaha  Hae-thu-ska  songs,  as  did  the  Winnebagos.  I  have  had 
Omahas  sing  me  the  songs  of  many  different  tribes,  but  they  were 
always  credited  to  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged.  I  have  never 
met  an  instance  of  plagiarism  among  the  Indians.  Certain  kinds 

239 


10 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


of  songs  can  be  purchased  by  individuals,  and  the  song  becomes 
personal  property,  but  the  purchaser  would  never  claim  to  have 
composed  it. 

Professor  Fillmore  in  his  valuable  report  demonstrates  the  exis¬ 
tence  of  a  “  natural  harmonic  sense”  in  the  Indian  which  had  been 
apparent  to  me  in  my  field  researches.  I  first  detected  this  feeling 
for  harmony  while  rendering  to  the  Indians  their  melodies  upon  an 
instrument ;  the  song  played  as  an  unsupported  solo  did  not  satisfy 
my  memory  of  their  unison  singing,  and  the  music  did  not  “sound 
natural”  to  them,  but  when  I  added  a  simple  harmony  my  ear  was 
content  and  the  Indians  were  satisfied.  What  years  of  observa¬ 
tions  forced  me  to  recognize,  Professor  Fillmore  has  also  discovered 
in  his  exhaustive  study  of  the  structure  of  these  songs.  Leaving 
to  his  scholarly  treatment  the  technicalities  of  the  music,  I  shall 
restrict  myself  to  the  consideration  of  the  relations  existing  between 
the  Indian’s  music  and  his  life,  social  and  individual. 


Among  the  Indians,  music  envelopes  like  an  atmosphere  every  re¬ 
ligious,  tribal  and  social  ceremony  as  well  as  every  personal  ex¬ 
perience.  There  is  not  a  phase  of  life  that  does  not  find  expression 
in  song.  Religious  rituals  are  embedded  in  it,  the  reverent  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  creation  of  the  corn,  of  the  food-giving  animals,  of  the 
powers  of  the  air,  of  the  fructifying  sun,  is  passed  from  one  genera¬ 
tion  to  another  in  melodious  measures  ;  song  nerves  the  warrior 
to  deeds  of  heroism  and  robs  death  of  its  terrors  ;  it  speeds  the  spirit 
to  the  land  of  the  hereafter  and  solaces  those  who  live  to  mourn  ; 
children  compose  ditties  for  their  games,  and  young  men  by  music 
give  zest  to  their  sports ;  the  lover  sings  his  way  to  the  maiden’s 
heart,  and  the  old  man  tunefully  evokes  those  agencies  which  can 
avert  death.  Music  is  also  the  medium  through  which  man  holds 
communion  with  his  soul,  and  with  the  unseen  powers  which  control 
his  destiny. 

The  songs  of  a  tribe  are  its  heritage  ;  many  of  them  have  been 
handed  down  through  generations  and  embody  not  only  the  feeling 
of  the  composer,  but  record  some  past  event  or  experience  ;  conse¬ 
quently  they  are  treasured  by  the  people  and  care  is  taken  to  trans¬ 
mit  them  accurately  and  this  is  effected  without  the  usual  external 
aids  to  memory  common  to  races  who  have  a  written  language. 

People  who  possess  written  music  have  also  some  mechanical 
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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


11 


device  by  which  a  tone  can  be  uniformly  produced,  as  by  the  vibra¬ 
tions  of  a  cord  of  given  length  and  tension,  the  tone  of  such  a  cord 
becoming  the  standard  by  which  all  other  tones  can  be  regulated ; 
thus  a  succession  of  tones  can  be  recorded,  and  accurately  repeated 
at  long  intervals  of  time,  and  by  different  persons.  The  Indians 
have  no  mechanism  for  determining  a  pitch,  there  is  no  uniform 
key  for  a  song,  it  can  be  started  on  any  note  suitable  to  the  singer’s 
voice.  This  absence  of  a  standard  pitch,  and  the  Indian’s  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  voice  which  is  similar  in  singing  and  in  speaking,  make 
Indian  music  seem  to  be  out  of  tune  to  our  ears  conventionally 
trained  to  distinguish  between  the  singing  and  the  speaking  tone 
of  voice.  Although  the  Indians  have  no  fixed  pitch,  yet,  given  a 
starting  note,  graduated  intervals  are  observed  ;  not  that  any  Indian 
can  sing  a  scale,  but  he  repeats  his  songs  without  any  material 
variation.  Men  with  good  voices  and  memories  are  the  music 
teachers,  who  take  pride  in  their  accuracy  of  singing,  and  frequently 
have  at  their  command  several  hundred  tribal  songs,  as  the  number 
of  native  songs  in  a  tribe  is  always  veiy  large. 

The  baritone  and  mezzo  soprano  are  more  common  than  the 
higher  or  lower  class  of  voices.  The  habit  of  singing  in  the  open 
air  to  the  accompaniment  of  percussion  instruments  tends  to  strain 
the  voice  to  the  detriment  of  its  sweetness  of  tone  and  mobility 
of  expression.  There  is  little  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Indian 
singer  to  render  piano  or  forte  passages,  or  to  swell  and  diminish 
a  tone,  although  this  is  sometimes  noticeable  in  love  songs.  When 
more  than  one  person  take  part  in  a  song  the  voices  are  always  in 
unison  ;  the  different  qualities  of  the  male  and  female  voice  bring  out 
harmonic  effects  which  are  enhanced  by  the  practice  of  the  women 
using  the  falsetto ;  the  chord  usually  presents  to  the  ear  two  or 
three  octaves  struck  simultaneously,  and  one  becomes  aware  of  over 
tones. 

The  Indian  enjo3rs  the  effect  produced  by  vibrations  of  the  voice, 
upon  a  prolonged  note,  he  will  give  a  throbbing  tremolo  not  unlike 
the  sound  obtained  by  vibrating  the  string  of  a  ’cello  while  passing 
over  it  the  bow  in  an  undulating  movement.  In  the  love  song 
the  singer  sometimes  waves  his  hand  slowly  to  and  from  his  mouth 
to  break  the  flow  of  the  breath  and  produce  pulsations  ;  the  tremolo 
of  the  voice  does  not  break  the  tone  to  his  ear,  as  do  the  vibrations 
produced  by  striking  the  piano  strings.  I  have  mentioned  the  diffi¬ 
culty  which  besets  the  Indian  the  first  time  he  hears  his  tribal  songs 

241 


12 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


plaj’ed  upon  the  piano ;  his  trouble  with  the  instrument  has  gener¬ 
ally  been  removed  by  my  singing  a  few  bars  with  the  piano ;  thus 
led  by  the  voice  upon  the  melody,  he  has  easily  followed  it  to  the 
end.  One  day  a  Ponca  who  had  been  struggling  with  a  piano  ren¬ 
dering  of  a  well-known  song  said  : 

“The  Omahas  and  Poncas  speak  the  same  language,  yet  there  is 
something  I  cannot  explain  which  makes  a  difference,  so  that  we 
Poncas  can  always  tell  even  in  the  dark  when  it  is  an  Omaha  speak¬ 
ing.  It  is  the  same  wray  with  this  piano  and  the  songs,  their  music 
is  familiar,  yet  when  j7ou  play  them  it  is  like  the  Omaha  speaking  ; 
when  they  are  sung  it  is  like  the  Ponca  talking.” 

Words  clearly  enunciated  in  singing  break  the  melody  to  the  In¬ 
dian  ear  and  mar  the  music.  Thej7  say  of  us  that  we  “talk  a  great 
deal  as  we  sing.”  Comparatively  few  Indian  songs  are  supplied 
with  words,  and  when  they  are  so  supplied,  the  words  are  frequently 
taken  apart  or  modified  so  as  to  make  them  more  melodious ;  more¬ 
over,  the  selection  of  the  words  and  their  arrangement  do  not 
always  correspond  to  that  which  obtains  in  ordinary  speech.  A 
majority  of  the  songs,  however,  are  furnished  almost  -wholly  with 
sjdlables  which  are  not  parts  or  even  fragments  of  words  but 
sounds  that  lend  themselves  easily  to  singing  and  are  without  defi¬ 
nite  meaning;  yet  when  a  composer  has  once  set  syllables  to  his 
song,  the}7  are  never  changed  or  transposed  but  preserved  with  as 
much  accuracy  as  we  would  observe  in  maintaining  the  integrity  of 
a  poem.  These  syllables  are  vowel  sounds  both  open  and  nasal, 
the  initial  letter  being  generally  li,  th,  or  y.  While  a  desire  for  eu- 
phony  directs  the  conscious  choice  of  the  initial  letter,  yet  a  study 
of  the  use  of  these  letters  seems  to  indicate  that  the  feeling  to  be 
expressed  controls  in  a  measure  the  selection  of  the  sjdlables.  The 
flowing  hae  ha  he  hi  ho  ha  or  athae  athee  lend  themselves  to  the 
gentler  emotions ;  these  sounds  are  common  in  the  love-songs,  the 
funeral  song,  and  when  the  singer  breathes  his  desire  for  the 
strengthening  of  his  own  life  from  sources  beyond  his  sight,  or 
seeks  to  express  his  aspiration  toward  the  ideal ;  yah  yae  yee  yi 
permit  sharp  explosive  tones,  and  these  sjdlables  are  generally  em¬ 
ployed  when  warlike  emotions  are  excited. 

The  use  of  these  sjdlables  and  the  management  of  the  words  of 
the  songs  reveal  a  striving  toward  poetic  expression  in  measured 
language.  In  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  rhythm  of  the 
music,  the  words  of  a  song  are  frequently  taken  apart  and  melodi- 
242 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


13 


ons  syllables  interposed,  giving  to  the  newly  formed  word  a  meas¬ 
ure  it  did  not  possess  in  ordinary  speech  ;  accents  too  are  changed 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  rhythm,  and  elliptical  phrases  are  used  ; 
moreover  there  is  often  an  answering  sound  at  the  end  of  repeated 
phrases  made  by  adding  a  syllable ;  this  suggests  that  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  emotion  calls  for  rhyme.  We  seem  here  to  come  upon  the 
beginnings  of  versification,  to  have  found  the  little  springs  of  feel¬ 
ing  and  expression  that  lie  at  the  source  of  the  mighty  stream  of 
poetry. 

The  following  example  will  illustrate  the  foregoing  : 

Na-g’the  wa-aw,  Captive  Song  No.  1. 

Ahyae-zhum-mae  tho;2 

Ahyae-zhum-mae  tho  ; 

Ah}Tae-zhum-mae  tho ; 

Hin  !  We-sa-thun  nu-kae-dae  ; 

Ahyae-zhum-mae  tho ; 

Ahyae-zhum-mae  tho. 

This  song  is  sung  by  the  leader  of  a  war  party  when  disaster  or 
death  seems  inevitable,  and  victory  is  to  be  plucked  from  defeat  only 
by  the  most  daring  and  heroic  efforts.  Under  such  circumstances, 
or  when  death  alone  can  be  the  issue  of  a  combat,  these  strains  are 
sung  to  nerve  the  warrior  to  do  his  utmost.  The  song  awakens  in 
the  memory  of  the  soldier  the  joy  at  his  birth,  when  his  sister  came 
to  his  mother’s  retired  tent  and  seeing  the  new-born  infant,  with  a 
cry  of  delight  and  endearment  exclaimed;  “My  Brother  !  A  man 
lies  there  A  man,  who  will  ever  guard  from  danger  and  hunger  and 
death.  The  thought  of  that  home  joy  and  trust  stimulates  the 
warrior  beset  by  dangers  to  defy  death  and  fulfil  the  prediction  at 
his  birth. 

The  phrase  Ahyae-zhum-mae  tho  is  elliptical,  made  so  to  accord 
with  the  rhythm  of  the  music.  The  spoken  words  would  be  Ahyae- 
zhum-me  ha.  In  the  song  the  phrase  is  oratorical,  me  is  made 
mae  ;  ha,  denoting  the  close  of  the  sentence,  is  changed  for  euphony 
to  the  musical  syllable  tlio ;  the  phrase  as  sung  conveys  something 
more  than  the  literal  meaning  of  the  words  “they  may  have  said 
“Have  they  not  said,”  is  the  true  signification  ;  and  the  ideal  of  a 

2  Throughout  this  monograph  all  italicized  syllables,  are  not  parts  of  words  but  mus¬ 
ical  syllables  without  definite  meaning,  as  described  in  the  text. 


243 


14 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


man’s  career  is  set  as  a  gem  in  the  words  “Hm  !  we-sa-tlmn  nti-kae- 
dae,”  •  My  Brother !  He  is  a  man!  Hin,  is  a  feminine  exclama¬ 
tion  of  pleasure.  We-sa-thun  or  we-tha-thun,  a  term  of  endearment 
used  by  an  elder  sister  to  her  younger  brother  equivalent  to,  my  dear 
brother.  Nu-kae  dae,  nu,  man,  kae-dae,  the  suffix  indicating  the 
position  of  the  infant,  lying  down.  Through  these  lines  twines 
the  poetry  of  thought  and  expression,  simple  as  a  wild  flower  and 
as  delicate  ;  the  music  assists  the  tender  verse  and  bears  the  weight 
of  the  thought.  “Ahyae-zhum-mae  tlio"  in  the  three  musical  phrases 
with  the  hold  on  tho  in  the  third  bar  of  each  phrase,  sounds  the  call 
of  the  man’s  birth  prophecy,  the  long-echoing  notes  carry  the 
thoughts  over  the  plains  and  the  forests  that  have  known  his  foot¬ 
steps,  where  dwell  the  omniscient  birds  that  watch  over  the  brave 
man,  taking  note  of  his  deeds.1  The  musical  treatment  of  these  same 
words  when  they  follow  the  fourth  phrase  makes  them  simply  nar¬ 
rative,  but  in  the  last  three  bars  the  words  become  again  significant, 
taking  on  a  deeper  meaning,  one  that  partakes  of  an  oracular  char¬ 
acter,  as,  ‘‘Have  they  not  said,  A  man  !”  The  climax  of  both  poem 
and  song  is  in  this  last  phrase  and  it  cannot  fail  to  be  felt  by  any¬ 
one  following  the  words  and  music. 

The  Wa-oo  wa-an  (woman  songs)  resemble  our  ballads.  They 
are  narrative  and  tell  of  happenings  in  the  life  of  the  composer, 
and,  as  their  name  implies,  are  experiences  of  young  men  and 
women.  They  are  sung  b}’  young  men  when  in  each  others’  com¬ 
pany  and  are  seldom  overheard  by  women,  almost  never  by  women 
of  high  character ;  men  in  mature  life,  unless  of  the  old  beaux 
class,  forego  these  songs,  as  the  Wa-oo  wa-an  belong  to  that  season 
in  a  man’s  career  when  “wild  oats”  are  said  to  be  sown.  Many 
of  them  are  quite  pleasing  both  as  to  music  and  versification,  a 
few  are  vulgar,  and  some  are  humorous. 

For  our  understanding  of  these  songs,  a  knowledge  of  Indian  cus¬ 
toms  and  modes  of  living  is  necessaiy,  for  these  are  all  implied  in 
the  situations  which  give  point  to  the  ballads.  To  the  tent  or  lodge 
come  few  young  men  except  the  kindred  of  the  family,  and  as 
among  the  Omahas  marriage  in  the  gens  of  the  father  and  subgens 
of  the  mother  is  forbidden,  there  is  little  chance  for  a  girl  to  meet 
in  her  parents’  tent  a  lover  and  be  openly  wooed  by  him.  Court- 

1  These  birds  are  represented  in  the  pack  used  in  testing  a  warrior’s  record  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  rites  of  the  Tent  of  War. 

244 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


15 


ing  is  always  in  secret,  the  lovers  usually  meeting  at  the  spring 
whither  the  girls  go  in  the  early  morning  and  at  evening  for  the 
family  supply  of  water.  The  lover,  however,  is  apt  to  haunt  the 
abode  of  his  sweetheart  to  watch  her  movements  from  some  hid¬ 
den  vantage  point,  and  at  the  dawn  his  love-song  may  be  heard 
echoing  over  the  hills.  Sometimes  he  sings  in  the  evening  to  let 
the  maiden  know  of  his  presence.  Girls  find  ways  of  learning 
who  are  the  young  men  seeking  them,  and  they  also  in  their  turn 
watch  these  lovers  secretly  and  either  flirt  a  little  or  entertain  a 
serious  regard  for  the  young  wooer.  All  this  little  drama  takes 
place  covertly,  no  elder  is  made  a  confidant ;  girls,  however,  some¬ 
times  compare  notes  with  each  other.  Generally  an  honorable 
courtship  ends  in  a  more  or  less  speedy  elopement  and  marriage, 
but  there  are  men  and  women  who  prefer  dalliance,  and  it  is  this 
class  that  furnish  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  the  Wa-oo  wa-an. 

In  the  following  example,  No.  2,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  the 
song  is  without  any  setting.  There  is  no  description  of  the  hero¬ 
ine  or  of  her  surroundings,  her  lament  only  is  given,  a  lament  ad¬ 
dressed  to  the  lover  who,  having  won  her,  holds  so  full  possession 
of  her  thoughts  that  she  has  unconsciously  betrayed  her  relation 
to  him.  The  picture  of  the  song  is  one  common  in  Indian  life. 
The  twilight  is  deepening,  the  evening  meal  is  over,  the  father  and 
mother,  the  grandparents,  the  uncle,  the  brothers  and  sisters  are 
all  gathered  about  the  cheerful  fire,  whose  smoke  curls  lazily  up 
through  the  opening  of  the  tent  and  the  children  and  puppies  are 
sleepy  in  the  quiet  restfulness  of  the  hour.  The  elder  daughter  sits 
demurely  at  the  back  of  the  tent,  her  fingers  idling  over  a  bit 
of  porcupine  quill  embroidery  she  can  no  longer  see  to  work  upon, 
her  thoughts  are  busy  with  the  youth  who  has  wooed  her  more  ar- 
dentty  than  prudence  would  sanction  ;  upon  this  peaceful  scene 
falls  the  clear  voice  of  a  singer  as  he  passes  on  to  the  trysting  place. 
The  girl  hears  the  well-known  tones  and  the  blood  mounts  to  her 
cheek  and  her  heart  beats  fast,  the  old  men  about  the  fire  carelessly 
ask  ;  “Who  is  that  singing?”  the  girl  in  the  stress  of  her  emotion 
unconsciously  lets  slip  from  her  lips  the  name  of  her  lover.  At  the 
word  all  eyes  turn  upon  her  and  she  realizes  what  she  has  done  and 
her  confusion  gives  place  to  anger  at  her  lack  of  self-control,  so  when 
she  meets  her  lover  she  reproachfully  tells  him  of  her  betrayal  of 
their  secret.  The  song  is  composed  by  the  vain  youth  who  in  it  re¬ 
hearses  his  conquest  to  his  companions. 


245 


16 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


Da-dun  na  e-ba-hun  beah-ke-thae,  time 
Da-dun  na  e-ba-lmn  beab-ke-thae,  lime 
Han-ah-de  oo-tha-g’tha-ah  tliun  e-z!ia-zliae  we-b’tha-dae  tliae  ;  time 
Da-dun  na  e-ba-hun  beah-ke-thae  :  tha  hi 
Ae-bae-in-tae  thae  !  ah-be-dan  ae-hae  me-kae  tliae  ;  time 
Wa-gun-tha-ma  ae-hae  me-kae  thae;  time 
E-zha-zhae  we-b’tha-dae  thae  :  tlm  hi. 

Da-dun,  an  exclamation  for  which  there  is  no  exact  English 
equivalent,  the  word  denotes  trouble  in  the  sense  of  a  fear  of  con¬ 
sequences,  if  one  knew  of  a  friend  who  was  placing  himself  in  an 
equivocal  relation  Da-dun  might  naturally  be  used  to  express  the 
dread  of  his  future  shame.  Na,  an  abbreviation  of  ae-na,  an  ex¬ 
clamation  of  surprise.  In  the  two  exclamations  da-dun  na,  the 
girl  gives  voice  to  her  apprehension  and  her  surprise  that  she  should 
have  allowed  herself  to  do  as  she  did,  there  is  also  an  implied 
self-reproach,  and  a  reflection  upon  her  lover.  E-ba-hun,  known  ; 
be-ah-ke-thae,  I  have  made  myself.  The  italicized  words  at  the 
end  of  the  lines  are  musical  syllables.  Han-ah-de,  last  night;  oo- 
tha-g’tha-ah,  you  sang,  literally,  shouted  ;  tliun,  is  a  portion  of  the 
word  tae-thun-de,  when  ;  e-zha-zhae,  name;  we-b’tha-dae,  I  spoke 
your,  or  I  called  your  ;  thae,  the  feminine  termination  of  a  sentence. 
Ae-bae-in-tae,  who  is  it ;  ah-be-dan,  when  they  said  ;  ae-hae  me-kae, 
I  said  sitting  ;  thae,  the  feminine  termination  of  the  sentence.  Wa- 
gun-tha-ma,  the  lover’s  name,  the  final  syllable  ma  being  a  suffix 
indicating  that  Wa-gun-tha  was  moving,  passing  along;  ae-hae 
me-kae,  I  said  sitting ;  thae,  feminine  termination  of  the  sentence. 
E-zha-zhae,  name;  we-b’tha-dae,  I  spoke  }Tour ;  thae,  feminine  ter¬ 
mination  of  the  sentence. 

In  ordinary  speech  the  feminine  termination  of  a  sentence  is  hae, 
corresponding  to  the  masculine  ha  ;  in  oratory  the  men  use  tha,  in¬ 
stead  of  ha,  and  women  thae,  rather  than  hae.  In  the  poem,  thae, 
the  formal  word,  is  used,  and  tends  to  give  dramatic  feeling  to  the 
lines.  The  syllables  thae  tha  are  added  for  rhythm  and  hi  is  used 
in  place  of  the  usual  tlio-e  which  marks  the  close  of  the  first  part ; 
hi  is  also  used  at  the  close  of  the  last  line  instead  of  f/io,  wThich 
generally  indicates  that  the  song  is  finished. 

In  the  following  translation  the  exclamation  and  syllables  are 
retained,  as  no  adequate  rendering  of  them  is  possible. 


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17 


Da-duw'na  !  I  have  made  myself  known  ;  time! 

Da-dun'na  !  I  have  made  myself  known  ;  thae  ! 

Last  night  when  you  sang,  I  uttered  your  name,  thae! 

Da-dunna !  I  have  made  myself  known  :  tha!  hi. 
“Who  is  it  that  sings?”  thae!  they  said,  and  I  sitting  there,  thae! 

“Wa-gun-tha  is  passing”  I  said  ;  thae! 

It  was  your  name  I  uttered  !  tha  hi. 

4 

The  structure  of  the  song  reveals  a  groping  after  metrical  form, 
and  the  choice  of  the  words  as  well  as  their  arrangement,  which  is 
not  colloquial,  indicates  a  desire  to  express  the  story  effectively 
and  to  lift  it  above  the  commonplace.  The  use  of  the  syllable 
thae  as  a  musical  refrain  at  the  end  of  each  line  is  noteworthy. 
The  introduction  of  thae  in  the  fifth  line  after  Ae-bae-iu-tae, 
“Who  is  it  that  sings?”  has  the  effect  of  a  sigh,  adding  dramatic 
expression  and  a  touch  of  pathos  to  the  narrative.  The  opening 
lines  presenting  at  once  the  theme  of  the  song,  resemble  in  a  strik¬ 
ing  manner  the  chorus  of  a  Scotch  ballad  that  always  sets  forth 
the  central  thought  or  feeling,  around  which  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  story  cluster.  In  the  Indian  song,  however,  there  is  no  elab¬ 
oration  in  literary  form,  and  the  music  is  equally  simple  ;  the  thought, 
the  scene,  the  melody,  come  without  warning  or  prelude,  breathe 
out  their  burden  and  are  gone  almost  before  a  listener  of  our  own 
race  realizes  their  presence. 

Examples  of  nascent  poetry  could  be  multiplied,  were  further  il¬ 
lustration  necessary,  to  show  that  the  Omahas  had  begun  to  use  sim¬ 
ple  metrical  forms.  Their  oratory  and  many  of  their  ordinary  figures 
of  speech  afford  abundant  proof  of  their  poetic  feeling ;  in  then- 
songs  we  see  indications  that  the  demand  of  the  rhythm  of  emotion 
for  an  answering  expression  in  measured  language  was  more  or  less 
consciously  recognized,  but  we  fail  to  find  evidence  of  the  sustained 
intellectual  effort  essential  to  the  development  of  poetic  art. 

The  following  collection  shows  how  pervasive  were  the  Omaha 
songs  not  only  in  the  social  and  political  forms  of  the  tribe  but  in 
permeating  the  avocations  of  the  people,  and  the  beliefs  and  as¬ 
pirations  of  the  individual  Indian. 

The  songs  fall  into  three  groups  : 

I.  CLASS  SONGS. 

II.  SOCIAL  SONGS. 

III.  INDIVIDUAL  SONGS. 


P.  M.  PAPERS  1  17 


247 


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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


The  first  group  embraces  the  songs  of  the  Sacred  Pole,  and 
Buffalo  Hide  ;  the  Hae-de-wa-che  or  annual  tribal  dance  ;  those  per¬ 
taining  to  the  rites  of  the  Tent  of  War ;  and  the  ritual  of  the  filling  of 
the  Tribal  Pipes.  These  songs  are  either  religious  or  ritualistic  and 
are  sung  only  by  the  initiated,  or  by  the  members  of  certain  sub- 
gentes  having  charge  of  sacred  or  of  tribal  ceremonies. 

The  second  group  includes  songs  belonging  to  the  Poo-g'tlnm, 
Hae-thu-ska,  To-ka-lo,  Ma-wa-da-ne,  and  other  secular  or  secret 
societies  ;  also  all  dance  and  game  songs  ;  the  songs  of  the  Wa-wa« 
or  ceremony  of  the  Pipes  of  Fellowship;  and  the  Funeral  song. 
These  songs  are  always  sung  by  companies  of  persons  ;  the  last  two 
are  somewhat  religious  in  character,  but  are  not  sacerdotal. 

To  the  third  group  belong  the  In-g’tlnmwa-an  (Thunder  songs), 
and  those  which  relate  to  Mystery,  to  Dreams,  and  to  the  Sweat 
Lodge  ;  Na-g’the  wa-an  (Captive  or  Death  songs)  ;  Mekasee  (Wolf 
or  Brave  songs)  ;  Wae-ton  wa-an  (Woman’s  songs  of  Sorrow)  ; 
'Love  lays  ;  Songs  of  Thanks,  and  the  Prayer  taught  eveiy  Omaha 
child  by  its  parents  and  used  throughout  life  by  the  whole  tribe. 
These  songs  pertain  to  individual  hopes,  desires,  or  experiences  and 
they  are  generally  sung  as  solos. 

/ 

I.  CLASS  SONGS. 

SONGS  OF  THE  SACRED  POLE  AND  THE  BUFFALO  HIDE. 

The  Omaha  tribe  lived  in  the  buffalo  country,  and  their  hunting 
of  this  game  was  governed  by  well  defined  rules  and  regulations 
which  were  obligatory  upon  every  member  of  the  tribe,  were  rig¬ 
orously  enforced,  and  any  disobedience  was  severely  punished  by 
officers  appointed  to  execute  the  laws.  Early  in’July  the  entire  tribe 
moved  out  of  their  village  under  a  leader  who  had  been  ceremoni¬ 
ously  placed  in  command.  Upon  this  man  rested  the  sole  respon¬ 
sibility  of  directing  the  movements  of  the  tribe,  of  selecting  their 
camping  places,  of  searching  for  the  game,  and  of  regulating  the 
manner  of  hunting  and  securing  food.  He  was  held  accountable 
for  everything  that  happened,  for  the  attacks  of  enemies  without, 
and  for  quarrels  within,  even  down  to  the  fighting  of  the  dogs.  If 
disasters  occurred  the  leader  was  deposed,  for  it  was  considered  that 
his  prayers  were  ineffectual,  and  he  was  not  in  favor  with  the  Un¬ 
seen  Powers.  The  tribe,  when  moving,  kept  well  together  and 
often  stretched  out  a  mile  or  two  in  length,  and  was  guarded 
by  picked  men  detailed  from  the  bravest  of  the  warriors  ;  this 
soldier  police  force  not  only  looked  out  for  lurking  enemies,  but 
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19 


prevented  any  man  slipping  from  the  ranks  for  a  private  hunt.  All 
the  rules  respecting  the  movements  of  the  tribe  on  the  annual  hunt 
were  based  upon  the  principle  that  the  liberty  of  the  individual 
must  be  subordinated  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  there¬ 
fore  no  one  for  his  personal  pleasure  or  gain  was  permitted  to  in¬ 
fringe  any  of  the  time-honored  regulations.  The  Leader  traveled 
apart  at  one  side,  in  prayerful  contemplation  of  the  duties  which 
devolved  upon  him.  His  office  was  one  of  the  most  coveted 
within  the  tribal  gift  and  was  also  one  of  the  most  onerous. 

After  the  tribe  had  secured  an  ample  store  of  meat,  sufficient  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  winter  season,  the  festival  of  Thanks¬ 
giving  took  place  ;  on  this  occasion  the  Sacred  Pole  and  the  Buffalo 
Hide  were  taken  from  their  tents  and  became  the  central  objects  in 
the  ceremony.  The  Wa-hrae'-hae-tan,  a  sub-gens  of  the  Himga  gens, 
had  charge  of  the  Pole  and  its  tent  and  the  Wa-sha-ba-tan  another 
subgens  cared  for  the  Hide  and  its  tent.  To  the  Himga  was  en¬ 
trusted  the  preservation  of  the  ritual  and  songs  of  the  Pole,  and  no 
one  in  the  tribe  except  a  male  member  of  this  gens  had  the  right 
to  sing  these  hubae  wa-an  or  sacred  songs.1 

Song  No.  3  was  sung  when  the  ceremony  of  anointing  the  Pole 
was  about  to  take  place,  and  was  a  call  to  the  people  to  gather  to¬ 
gether  to  witness  the  rite.  Some  of  the  words  are  evidently  mod¬ 
ified  so  as  to  be  more  musical,  as  in  the  first  line  where  Ae-hae  when 
repeated  is  changed  to  thae-hae ;  “Ae-hae  thae-hae”  being  more 
euphonious  and  flowing  than  ae-hae  ae-hae. 

Ae-hae  thae-hae  tha 
Ae-gim  shu-ka-tha-ha  nuz-zhm-ga 
Ae-hae  thae-hae  tha 
Mim-da-lia  ae-ah  ba-dan  ae-ah 
Ae-hae  thae-hae  tha. 

Aediae,  I  bid  or  command  ;  Ae-gim,  therefore  ;  shu-ka-tha-ha,  in  a 
group  ;  nuz-zhm-ga,  stand  ye  ;  Mim-da-lia  is  an  obsolete  word,  as  is 
ae-ah,  the  meaning  however  seems  to  be,  gather,  come  nearer; 
ba-da?i,  and ;  the  word  ae-gim  is  difficult  to  translate,  it  implies 
that  the  Hunga  having  been  formally  requested  by  the  chiefs  to 
perform  this  ceremony  ae-gim  (therefore)  the  people  on  their  part 
are  to  gather  and  stand  near  the  sacred  tent  and  witness  it. 

1 A  full  account  of  the  Pole  or  Wa-hrae'-hae  and  the  ceremonies  connected  with  it, 
and  all  other  rites  pertaining  to  the  tribe  will  be  given  in  a  monograph  entitled  “  The 
Omahas.” 


249 


20 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


I  bid  I  bid  tha 

Therefore,  shall  ye  all  stand  in  a  group 
I  bid  I  bid  tha 

Gather  ye  nearer,  come  hither,  come  ! 

I  bid  I  bid  tha . 

The  following  song,  No.  4,  was  sung  during  the  painting  of  the 
Sacred  Pole. 

Zhe-da  ke-thae  zhe-da  ke-thae  hae  hae 

Kum-peah  ke-thae  kum-peah  ke-thae  hae  hae 

Zhe-da,  red  ;  ke-thae,  I  make  ;  kum-peah,  comely,  pleasant  to 
look  upon. 

I  make  the  Pole  red  and  comely  to  look  upon. 

There  are  a  number  of  ritual  songs  belonging  to  this  ceremony 
which  tell  of  the  creation  and  growth  of  the  corn ;  the  music  of 
these,  like  the  foregoing  example,  is  of  the  chant  order. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  Thanksgiving  festival  the  Hae-de-wa-che 
or  tribal  dance  took  place  conducted  by  the  In-kae-sabbae  gens  ;  the 
singing  of  the  songs  was  the  duty  of  the  AYa-the-ge-zhae  subgens. 
The  dance  was  highly  dramatic  especially  that  part  wherein  the 
past  experiences  of  the  warriors  were  depicted.  The  scene  was  full 
of  action  and  color,  the  whole  tribe  took  part  in  it ;  every  one 
was  in  gala  dress,  there  was  hardly  an  Omaha  too  old  or  too  young 
not  to  have  upon  him  some  token  of  festivity.  Fragments  of  an¬ 
cient  tribal  rites  are  discernible  in  this  dance,  as -well  as  bits  of 
tribal  history ;  the  music  however  presents  little  of  interest  it  being 
simple  in  rhythm,  and  fitted  to  the  movements  of  the  dancing  men 
and  women  as  they  pass  in  a  vast  circle  around  a  pole,1  the  male 
singers  and  drummers  sitting  at  its  base. 

The  Call  to  the  Hae-de-wa-che  No.  5  is  peculiar  and  noteworthy. 
Its  melodious  cadences  suggest  the  echo  of  some  well  nigh  forgotten 
song  which  belonged  possibly  to  an  obsolete  rite  that  has  long  since 
been  lost  or  merged  in  this  dance  of  the  tribe. 

Zha-wa  e-ba  e-ba  ha 
Ae-hae 

are  the  words.  Zha-wa  is  an  abridgment  of  oo-zha-wa,  to  rejoice  ; 
eba,  come;  ae-hae,  I  command. 

1  The  pole  used  in  the  Hae-de-wa-che  is  not  the  Sacred  Pole,  but  one  cut  for  the  occa¬ 
sion  with  peculiar  ceremonies. 

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21 


Come  !  Come  and  rejoice  ! 

I  bid  you ! 

The  words  in  the  dance  song,  No.  6,  are,  Ae-hae  wa-na-shae,  I 
command,  soldiers.  The  bidding  was  from  the  In-kae-sabbae 
gens  to  the  soldiers  of  the  tribe  to  take  part  in  the  dance. 

SONGS  OF  THE  TENT  OF  WAR. 

The  Wae-jin-ste  gens  had  charge  of  the  Tent  of  War  wherein 
were  preserved  certain  articles  used  in  those  rites  which  were  sup¬ 
posed  to  test  the  truthfulness  of  a  warrior’s  recital  of  his  deeds  of 
valor.  One  of  these  articles  was  a  skin  case  or  pack  fashioned  in 
the  symbolic  form  of  a  bird  and  containing  the  skins  of  a  number 
of  birds  supposed  to  possess  warlike  instincts.  These  birds  in 
their  flight  over  the  earth  watched  and  noted  all  valorous  deeds,  so 
when  a  man  boasted  or  exaggerated  as  he  told  his  tale  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  this  pack,  his  untruthfulness  was  brought  to  light  by  these 
birds  who  caused  the  reed  which  he  was  required  to  drop  upon  the 
pack  to  roll  off  to  the  ground.  The  rites  of  the  Tent  of  War  are 
allied  to  those  ceremonies  connected  with  the  hearing  of  the  first 
thunder  peal  in  the  spring-time.  There  are  indications  of  a  kinship 
of  ideas  and  emotions  between  the  songs  of  the  War-Tent  ceremony 
and  the  Ing’than  wa-a n  (thunder  songs)  the  latter,  being  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  an  individual  appeal  to  the  unseen  powers,  are  more 
varied  and  tuneful ;  the  former,  belonging  to  a  ceremonial  are,  of 
necessity  restricted  and  formal,  resembling  a  chant  rather  than  a 
melody.  These  differences,  however,  do  not  conceal  the  likeness 
between  the  two  classes  of  songs,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  resemblance  has  an  historical  basis,  and  that  the  chants  of  the 
Tent  of  War  were  once  Thunder  songs  of  individuals  which  became 
in  the  lapse  of  years  modified  to  suit  the  ritual  as  sung  during  the 
truth-testing  rites  of  the  Tent  of  War. 

The  following  No.  7  is  an  example  of  the  songs  pertaining  to 
these  rites.  The  words  refer  to  the  mythical  form  and  weapon  of 
Thunder. 

The-te-gan  num-pae-wa-thae !  ga. 

The-te-gan  num-pae-wa-thae !  ga 
The-te-gan  num-pae-wa-thae  !  ga 
The-te-gan  wae-tin  kae  g’the-hun  ke  num-pae-wa-thae  !  ga 
The-te-gan  num-pae-wa-thae !  ga. 


1  These  songs  are  Nos.  75,  76,  77. 


251 


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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC.  * 


The-te-gan,  your  grandfather ;  num-pae-wa-thae,  fearful  to  be¬ 
hold  ;  wae-tin,  club ;  kae,  long ;  g’the-hun,  lifts  his ;  ke,  when. 

Your  Grandfather  fearful  to  behold  is  he !  ga 
Your  Grandfather  fearful  to  behold  is  he !  ga 
Your  Grandfather  fearful  to  behold  is  he  !  ga 
When  your  Grandfather  lifts  his  long  club  he  is  fearful  to  behold  !  ga 
Your  Grandfather  fearful  to  behold  is  he !  ga 

It  is  only  in  rituals,  or  the  songs  of  a  religious  ceremony  that  there 
is  ever  any  picturing  of  the  gods,  any  attempt  to  appeal  to  the 
imagination  and  stir  the  emotions  of  awe  or  fear.  In  this  song 
not  only  is  Thunder  addressed,  but  his  powerful  ancestors  are 
called  to  mind.  Myths  tell  of  these  wonderful  beings  who  some¬ 
times  descended  to  avenge  wrong  doing  and  this  song  recalls  a  time 
when  Thunder  warred  against  man. 

The  music  of  the  ritual  of  filling  the  Tribal  Pipes  is  lost.  The 
keeping  of  this  ritual  was  the  hereditary  charge  of  certain  members 
of  a  subgens  of  the  In-shtae-sunda  gens,  and  the  last  man  who  knew 
it  died  some  years  ago.  It  was  a  chant  and  was  sung  without 
accentuation  by  the  drum. 

All  the  songs  of  group  I  are  Hubae  wa-an,  sacred  songs  and  were 
the  property  of  certain  subgentes  and  initiated  persons.  Although 
many  of  these  songs,  as  those  of  the  Hae-de  wa-che,  and  the  Sacred 
Pole  were  often  learned  stealthily  by  ear,  no  persuasion  could  in¬ 
duce  a  man  not  of  the  In-kae-sabbae  or  Hunga  gens  to  sing  them  in 
the  presence  of  a  member  of  either  of  these  gentes  ;  it  would  be  as¬ 
suming  a  right  or  tribal  privilege,  and  as  unbecoming  an  Omaha, 
as  for  an  obscure  person  among  us  to  arrogate  to  himself  the  func¬ 
tions  of  an  official.  It  is  difficultt  to  obtain  a  hearing  of  these 
songs  apart  from  their  appropriate  ceremonies ;  those  here  given 
have  been  obtained  through  personal  friendship  of  the  singers. 

II.  SOCIAL  SONGS. 

Societies  afforded  the  only  opportunities  within  the  tribe  for  the 
indulgence  of  the  social  instinct,  membership  not  being  confined  to 
any  one  gens ;  persons  who  were  not  kindred  could  thus  meet  upon 
terms  of  equality.  The  various  gatherings  were  occasions  for  the 
display  of  talent  and  the  enjoyment  of  applause  or  the  practice  of 
rites  supernatural  in  their  import.  Some  of  the  societies  bore  a 
resemblance  to  our  clubs,  others  were  historical,  religious  or  secret. 
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23 


These  associations  embraced  within  their  membership  almost  every 
adult  man  and  many  women  in  the  tribe. 

poo-g'thuiv  songs. 

The  Poo-g’thrm  society  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  oldest.  Chiefs 
•only  were  eligible  and  a  candidate  once  admitted  remained  a  mem¬ 
ber  until  death.  The  Leader  or  principal  officer  was  that  chief  who 
•could  count  the  greatest  number  of  valiant  deeds,  therefore  unless 
a  man  kept  up  his  war  record  he  could  hardly  hope  to  retain  this 
position.  The  office  of  Keeper  of  the  songs  was  held  for  life 
and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  incumbent  to  train  his  successor.  The 
songs  were  the  archives  of  the  society;  little  more  than  the  name 
of  a  noted  chief  might  be  mentioned  in  the  song  but  the  story 
of  the  kero’s  deeds  was  stored  in  the  Keeper’s  memory  and  trans¬ 
mitted  with  the  song,  thus  the  traditions  of  the  Poo-g’tlnm  preserved 
a  partial  history  of  the  tribe.  Through  a  series  of  coincidences 
a  superstition  grew  up  that  whenever  the  Keeper  sang  one  of  the 
old  songs  death  would  visit  his  family;  members  therefore  became 
loath  to  take  the  responsibility  of  asking  for  them,  and  when  the 
request  was  made  it  was  accompanied  by  a  large  gift,  offered  to  atone 
for  any  ill  fortune  which  might  come  upon  the  Keeper.  It  is  said 
that  the  last  time  the  Keeper  sang  an  old  song,  while  he  was  singing, 
a  Sioux  warrior  crept  stealthily  into  the  camp,  made  his  way  to 
the  singer’s  tent  and  there  shot  dead  the  Keeper’s  daughter.  The 
society  has  been  extinct  for  about  half  a  century  and  the  stories 
connected  with  the  Poo-g’tkun  Songs  are  lost ;  no  one  knows  by 
whom  they  were  composed  or  the  events  they  celebrate.  The  songs 
are  of  two  kinds  :  those  sung  while  the  men  sat  resting,  and  those 
which  served  as  an  accompaniment  to  dancing.1 

In  Song  No.  8,  musical  syllables  are  used  in  all  the  phrases 
except  i  n  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  second  part.  En-da-koo- 
tka,  an  old  word  for  friend ;  wa-ha-tun-ga,  shield  ;  ae-ah-mae,  they 
say.  Wa-lm-frmga  was  probably  the  hero’s  name,  and  the  song 
may  record  this  man’s  services  as  a  friend  to  the  people,  or  as  a 
shield.  The  song  is  lively,  easily  starts  the  heels,  and  once  heard 
is  not  apt  to  be  forgotten ;  the  music  has  by  these  qualities  outlived 
its  burden. 

1  A  full  account  of  the  Societies  of  the  Omahas  will  be  given  in  the  Omaha  monograph. 

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24 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


The  words  of  No.  9  are  also  few  and  the  hero  whose  war  cry  is 
recorded  is  now  forgotten. 

Shii-pe-da  hu-ah-ta  na-zhin  ;  time, 

Shn-pe-da  hu-ah-ta  na-zhin  ;  time, 

Ah  ae  time  tha ! 

Ae  time  lie  time  ! 

Ae-hae  hu-ah-ta  na-zhin  ;  time, 

Ae  thae  tha! 

Ae  thae  he  thae  ! 

Shu-pe-da,  when  I  come;  hu-ah-ta,  I  shout,  I  cry;  na-zhin, 
stand.  These  scanty  words  convey  to  the  Omaha  the  picture  of  the 
warrior  who,  when  he  reaches  his  place  in  the  battle  line,  shouts 
forth  his  cry  that  sends  terror  to  the  enemy. 

When  I  come  to  my  place  I  shout ;  thae, 

When  I  come  to  my  place  I  shout ;  thae, 

Ah  ae  thae  tha ! 

Ae  thae  he  time ! 

I  command  as  I  stand  and  shout ;  time, 

Ae  thae  tlm  ! 

Ae  time  he  time ! 

The  following,  No.  10,  is  full  of  spirit  and  defiance,  a  real  war-song. 
Shu-pe-da  wea-wa-ta  tha-wa-thae 
Shu-pe-da  wea-wa-ta  tha-wa-thae 
Pa-tha-ga-ta ! 

Tha  wa  thae  ah  lme  thae  he 

Thae  ah  he  time  ! 

Shu-pe-da,  when  I  come ;  wea-wa-ta,  where ;  tha-wa-thae,  do  I 
send  them  ;  Pa-tha-ga-ta,  to  the  hill  or  mounds.1 

Where  do  I  send  them  when  I  come? 

Where  do  I  send  them  when  I  come? 

To  their  graves ! 

I  send  them  ah  hae  thae  he 

Thae  ah  he  thae ! 

A  song  so  full  of  bravery  could  not  die  in  the  memory  of  a  peo¬ 
ple  as  valiant  as  the  Omahas. 

The  war-cry  at  the  close  of  these  songs  is  not  vociferous,  but 
seems  to  be  addressed  to  that  particular  guardian  of  the  warrior  which 

1  The  Omahas  erected  mounds  over  their  dead. 

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25 


had  appeared  to  him  in  his  fastings  and  whose  token  was  always 
worn  on  his  person  in  the  hour  of  danger.  Such  cries  possessed 
a  subjective  character,  they  roused  within  the  singer  the  memory 
of  his  vigils  when  the  promise  of  supernatural  help  in  time  of  need 
was  given,  they  nerved  him  to  greater  power,  while  they  reminded 
his  enemy  that  he  had  to  contend  with  an  unseen  ally  in  the  battle  ; 
they  were  altogether  different  from  the  yell  or  whoop  so  generally 
present  in  Indian  warfare,  and  were  used  for  a  very  different  pur¬ 
pose. 

The  Poo-g’thun  wa-a n  constitute  the  wildest  music  of  the  Omahas 
and,  unlike  other  war-songs  of  the  tribe,  they  are  marked  by  a 
rhythm,  simple  and  forceful,  and  are  quite  in  contrast  with  many  of 
the  Hae-thu-ska  songs  wherein  the  rhythms  are  contesting  and 
complicated. 

HAE-THU-SKA  SONGS. 

The  origin  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  society  is  not  known,  there  is  a 
tradition  that  it  sprang  from  the  Poo-g’tlnm  and  there  are  reasons 
which  give  weight  to  this  view.  A  valiant  record  alone  entitled  a 
man  to  admission  and  promotion  in  the  Hae-thu-ska ;  a  chief  secured 
no  precedence,  for  the  society  was  democratic  as  to  the  standing  of 
its  members.  Like  the  Poo-g’thun,  the  Hae-thu-ska  preserved  the 
history  of  its  members  in  its  songs ;  when  a  brave  deed  was  per¬ 
formed,  the  society  decided  whether  it  should  be  celebrated  and 
without  this  dictate  no  man  would  dare  permit  a  song  to  be  com¬ 
posed  in  his  honor.  When  a  favorable  decision  was  given,  the  task 
of  composing  the  song  devolved  upon  some  man  with  musical  talent. 
It  has  happened  that  the  name  of  a  man  long  dead  has  given  place 
in  a  popular  song  to  that  of  a  modern  warrior ;  this  could  only  be 
done  by  the  consent  of  the  society,  which  was  seldom  given  as 
the  Omahas  were  averse  to  letting  the  memory  of  a  brave  man  die. 
There  are  a  few  songs  that  carry  two  names,  the  old  being  still 
remembered,  although  a  new  name  is  gradually  taking  its  place. 
This  overlapping  offers  a  clew  as  to  the  age  of  the  song,  since  a 
man’s  name  would  not  be  dropped  during  the  life  time  of  any  near 
kindred  ;  it  seems  safe  to  date  such  songs  fully  fifty  years  prior  to 
the  substitution  of  the  new  name.  Although  the  Haethuska  had 
no  office  of  “Keeper  of  the  songs,”  the  songs  were  transmitted  from 
one  generation  to  another  with  care  as  was  also  the  story  of  the 
deeds  the  songs  commemorated.  The  singing  was  by  selected  mem- 

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bers  assisted  by  a  few  women,  who  sat  around  the  drum  ;  some  of  tbe 
songs  were  sung  by  the  whole  assembly,  particularly  those  used 
in  the  opening  and  closing  ceremonies. 

The  officers  of  the  Hae-thu-slca  comprised  a  Leader,  a  Herald  and 
two  Servers  who  held  their  places  for  life,  or  until  they  resigned. 
The  meetings  of  the  Society  generally  took  place  once  a  month, 
but  there  were  no  stated  times.  The  Herald,  on  the  evening  of  a 
meeting,  four  times  sounded  the  call  “Hae-thu-ska !”  prolonging 
the  last  syllable  which  echoed  among  the  hills  and  woods,  produc¬ 
ing  an  effect  not  unlike  soft  modulating  chords.  The  first  act  after 
the  members  were  gathered  together  was  the  preparation  of  the 
charcoal  for  blackening  the  face  in  honor  of  Thunder.  Song  No.  11 
was  sung  as  the  box  elder  wood  charred  upon  the  fire. 

Nun-g’thae  thae-tae 

Ile-tha-ke-un-tae 

Thun-ah-he-dae. 

Nim-g’thae,  charcoal ;  tlue-tae,  this  standing  before  me.  He-tha- 
ke-un-tae,  to  paint  or  decorate  himself  with;  tlum-ah-he-dae  from 
un-tha-he-dae,  I  wearily  wait  or  wait  until  I  am  weary.  The  song 
implies  that  the  warrior  is  weary  waiting  for  the  time  when  he  shall 
go  forth  to  fight  under  the  shadow  or  protection  of  Thunder,  the 
god  of  War.  The  music  expresses  the  eagerness  of  the  warrior  and 
suggests  the  tremulous  movement  of  the  leaves  just  before  a  thun¬ 
der  storm. 

After  the  painting  of  the  face  the  pipe  was  filled  and  then  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  zenith  and  the  four  points  of  the  compass  as  the  as¬ 
sembly  joined  in  the  following  prayer  No.  12: 

Wa-kan-da  tha-ne  ga  thae  kae. 

Wa-kan-da  tha-ne  ga  thae  kae. 

Wa-kan-da  tha-ne  ga  thae  kae 
Ae-ha  tha-ne  hin-ga 

IFde  tho  hae  tho 

Wa-kan-da,  God ;  tha-ne  from  ne-ne,  tobacco ;  ga,  here ;  thae, 
this  ;  kae,  long  ;  ae-ha,  now  ;  hin-ga,  from  in-ga,  to  draw  with  the 
lips.  Wa-kan-da,  we  offer  tobacco  in  this  pipe,  will  you  accept  our 
offering  and  smoke  it?  is  the  meaning  of  the  words.  This  prayer 
concluded  the  opening  ceremonies. 

The  evening  was  spent  in  social  converse,  interspersed  with 
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27 


songs  sung  as  the  members  sat  at  rest ;  dance  songs  were  struck  up 
occasionally,  each  dancer  acting  out  his  personal  experiences,  or 
the  story  of  the  song  that  was  being  sung.  When  a  name  occurred 
in  a  song  the  drum  ceased  and  the  voices  alone  carried  the  music. 
Food  was  always  prepared  in  the  presence  of  the  assembly  ;  when 
it  was  ready  to  be  served  No.  13  was  sung,  while  the  servers  per¬ 
formed  a  dance  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  evening’s  ceremony. 

Ou-han  thae-tae  ne-dae  tlio. 

En-da-koo-tha  ne-dae  tho. 

Ou-han,  cooked  food,  or  the  one  who  cooks  the  food  for  a  com¬ 
pany  ;  thae-tae,  this;  ne-dae,  it  is  cooked.  En-da-koo-tha,  the 
same  old  word  for  friend  as  that  used  in  the  Porg’thun  song  No.  8  ; 
tho,  a  substitute  for  the  oratorical  tha,  to  mark  the  close  of  the 
sentence.  The  words  proclaim,  Friend,  the  food  is  cooked. 

After  supper,  dance  and  resting  songs  were  sung,  dramatic 
dances  accompanying  the  former.  Well  on  in  the  night,  the  cere¬ 
monies  were  brought  to  a  close  by  the  entire  company  singing  the 
song  of  dismissal  No.  14.  With  the  beginning  of  the  song  the 
members  arose,  and,  at  the  second  part  they  moved  slowly  around 
the  fire  singing  as  they  walked  ;  the  thud  of  the  feet  answered  to 
the  drum  as  the  warriors  passed  out  into  the  night,  and  the  final 
note  was  struck  as  the  last  man  emerged  from  the  lodge.  The 
meetings  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  opened  and  closed  with  chorals  of  a 
religious  character;  in  these  ceremonial  songs,  as  well  as  in  other 
music  pertaining  to  War,  we  see  how  closely  allied  were  War  and 
religious  ceremonies  among  the  Omahas.  The  music  of  No.  14  is 
worthy  of  note ;  so  is  the  harmony  insisted  upon  by  the  Indians  as 
necessary  to  the  expression  of  the  feeling  of  the  song  when  it  is 
rendered  upon  the  piano.  The  words,  though  simple,  show  why  the 
Omahas  demanded  fuller  chords  for  the  march  of  the  warriors  around 
the  lodge  than  for  the  call  to  rise  and  stand,  preparatory  to  moving 
out  under  the  stars. 

Hm-da-koo-tha  na-zhm  time. 

Hm-da  koo-tha  na  zhm  time. 

Hm-da-koo-tha  na-zhm  time. 

Ae-ha  na-zhm  he-tha-mae  tho  hae  time. 

Hm-da-koo-tha  ma-thm  time.  etc. 

Hm-da-koo-tha  is  the  same  old  word  used  in  the  ceremonial  song 
No.  13,  the  letter  h  is  prefixed  to  give  musical  effect  and  an  added 

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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


meaning  to  the  word  En-da-koo-tha ;  the  members  of  the  Hae- 
thu-ska  were  friends  bound  together  by  experiences  and  deeds  that 
had  proved  each  one’s  valor  and  dependence  upon  the  unseen  pow¬ 
ers,  those  forces  that  help  and  protect  man  in  the  hour  of  danger, 
the  word  recognizes  this  tip  :  na-zhin,  stand;  ae-ha,  now;  he-tha- 
mae,  they  say,  they  will.  In  the  second  part  the  only  change  is 
the  substitution  of  ma-thin,  to  walk,  for  the  word  na-zhin,  to  stand. 

Song  No.  15. 

Zhin-thae  sha-e-be-thae 
Zhin-thae  sha-e-be-thae 
Nun-dae  wae-ga-thun-ga  ta-ba-dan 
Zhin-thae  sha-e-be-thae  tho  hae  tho-e 
Ta-hae-zhin-ga  Hae-thu-ska  ga-hae-dan. 

Nun-dae  wae-ga-thun-ga  ta-ba-dan. 

Zhin-thae  sha-e-be-thae  tho  hae  tho. 

Zhin-thae,  elder  brother;  Sha-e-be-thae,  and  Sha-e-ba-dan  are 
modifications  of  Sha-e-eha,  they  are  coming;  Nun-dae,  heart;  wae- 
ga-thun-ga,  to  test  our;  ta-ba-dan,  that  they  may;  ga-hae-dan, 
when  he  made.  The  song  may  be  translated  : 

When  Ta-hae-zhin-ga  was  the  Leader  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  he 
made  this  saying : — Brother,  they  are  coming  to  test  our  hearts 
or  courage. 

The  song  is  very  old.  The  most  aged  men  to  be  found  in  the 
tribe  ten  years  ago,  had  heard  it  when  they  were  boys  sung  by  old 
warriors.  The  name  in  the  text  was  being  supplanted  three  gen¬ 
erations  ago  by  that  of  Ne  koo-the-b’than,  and  still  later,  Han-dan- 
ma-thin,  who  fought  valiantly  against  the  Pawnees  over  fifty  years 
since,  was  honored  by  having  his  name  occasionally  introduced  in 
the  song. 

Song  No.  16. 

Hae-thu-ska  thin-ga-bae 
Hae-thu-ska  thin-ga-bae 
Hae-thu-ska  thin-ga-bae 
Gha-gae  ah-thin-hae  tho  hae  tho-e 
Te-tlm  the-shan  thin-ga-bae 
Hae-thu-ska  thin-ga-bae 
Gha-gae  ah-thin-hae  tho  hae  tho. 

Hae-thu-ska,  the  members  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  Society  ;  thin-ga- 
bae,  they  are  naught,  or,  they  are  dead  ;  Gha-gae,  I  weep  ;  ah-thin- 
hae,  I  walk ;  Te-thu,  the  village ;  the-shan,  around. 

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29 


This  old  song  was  composed  at  a  time  when  so  many  of  the 
Omaha  warriors  had  been  slain  that  the  Hae-thu-ska  Society  ad¬ 
journed  its  meetings  until  the  period  of  mourning  was  over ;  when 
the  members  came  together  again,  this  song  was  sung  in  memory  of 
the  days  when  men  went  about  the  village  weeping  for  the  brave 
comrades  who  had  fallen  in  battle  and  were  seen  no  more.  I  have 
heard  old  men  sing  this  song  in  a  low  tone  as  they  sat  by  the  fire, 
tears  in  their  faded  eyes,  their  thoughts  upon  the  friends  who  had 
gone,  and  the  days  that  could  never  return.  The  double  drum 
beats  are  not  here  represented  because  to  our  ear  they  would  detract 
from  the  feeling  expressed  in  the  music,  and  prevent  an  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  pathos  of  the  song.  The  thirty-second  notes  as  rendered 
by  the  Indian  suggest  the  catching  of  the  breath  in  sobs. 

Song  No.  17. 

Tun-gae-ah  da-dun  nan-tha-pae  he-we-tha  ga 
Tun-gae-ah  da-dun  nan-tha-pae  he-we-tha  ga 
Tun-gae-ah  um-ba  ya-dun  he-we-tha  ga 
Tun-gae-ah  da-dun  nan-tha-pae  he-we-tha  ga 
Tun-gae-ah  um-ba  ya-da?i  he-we-tha  ga. 

Tun-gae,  my  sister  ;  ah,  calls  the  attention  of  the  one  addressed  ; 
da-dun,  what ;  nan-tha-pae,  fear  you  ;  he-we-tha  ga,  tell  me  ;  um-ba, 
day  ;  ya-dan,  coming. 

My  sister!  tell  me  what  it  is  you  fear  as  the  day  daw.ns? 

The  song  is  old.  It  was  sung  slowly  while  the  members  sat  at 
rest  in  the  meetings  of  the  Hae-thu-ska,  and  it  was  also  one  of  the 
songs  sung  as  the  men  went  out  to  fight.  “  Sister”  personates  the 
women  of  the  tribe.  “What  can  they  fear  when  the  warriors  are 
gathered  for  their  protection.”  The  song  is  knightly  in  its  sentiment. 

Song  No.  18. 

Um-ba  thae-na  un-ge-tun-ba  ga 
Um-ba  thae-na  un-ge-tun-ba-gae  Tun-gae 
Um-ba  thae-na  un-ge-tun-ba-gae  tho  hae 
Hae-thu-ska  na  tae-he-ae-dae 
Pa-hae-tae  ah-ke-he-b’tha 
Um-ba  thae-na  un-ge-tun-ba  gae  tho  hae  tho. 

Um-ba,  day ;  thae-na,  this  only ;  un-ge-tun-ba  ga,  look  at  me 
who  belong  to  you,  tun  is  from  dun-bae,  to  see,  ge  gives  the  pos¬ 
sessive,  ga  the  imperative ;  tun-gae,  sister ;  hae-thu-ska,  the  so- 

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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


ciety  membership  ;  na,  only ;  tae-he-ae  dae,  a  difficult  task  or  duty 
which  one  is  under  obligation  to  perform  ;  pa-hae-tae,  I  make  my¬ 
self,  that  is  I  become  a  part  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  societjq  an  ellip¬ 
tical  and  poetic  form.  Ah-ke-he-b’tha,  I  feel  unqualified,  that  is, 
the  duty  is  difficult  and  although  [  shall  attempt  it  I  feel  my  dis¬ 
qualifications.  “Sister  look  upon  me  who  belong  to  you  for  the  last 
time  to-day,  the  tasks  of  a  member  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  are  difficult. 
I  feel  my  shortcomings,  and  go  forth  for  the  last  time  to-day.” 

The  song  was  sung  when  the  members  were  resting,  or  when  the 
Hae-thu-ska,  circling  the  camp,  were  going  forth  to  battle.  Sister 
personifies  the  women  of  the  tribe. 

An  occasion  is  remembered  when,  over  seventj^-five  }mars  ago,  this 
song  was  sung  in  a  fight  with  the  Che3yenne  and  Arrapahos,  the 
Omaha  camp  was  threatened,  and  many  women  saw  their  warriors 
for  the  last  time  as  they  moved  off  to  do  battle  for  the  preservation 
of  their  homes. 

Song  No.  19. 


Sha-e-ba-dan  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Sha-e-ba-dan  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Sha-e-ba-dan  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Hae-thu-ska  wa-shu-shae  tho  hae  thoe 
Mun-chu-tun-ga  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Sha-e-ba-dan  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Sha-e-ba-dan  wa-dan-ba  ga 
Hae-thu-ska  wa-shu-shae  tho  hae  tho. 

Sha-e-ba-dan,  they  are  coming;  wa-dan-ba  ga,  see  them,  the  syl¬ 
lable  ga  indicates  a  command  ;  Wa-shu-shae,  warriors  or  braves ; 
Mun-chu-tun-ga,  the  name  of  the  man  celebrated  in  the  song. 

See  them  !  they  are  coming, 

Warriors  of  the  Hae-tlmska. 

Mun-chu-tun-ga !  behold  them 
See  them  !  they  are  coming, 

Warriors  of  the  Hae-thu-ska. 

The  mention  of  Mun-chu-tun-ga  by  name,  when  all  the  warriors 
of  the  Hae-thu-ska  were  addressed  collectively,  commemorated  the 
bravery  of  this  one  man  in  the  face  of  an  advancing  enemy. 

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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


31 


Song  No.  20. 

Ho  eya  ae  ho  wae  Ho  e  ya  ae  ho  tuae,  etc. 

Zhin-ga-wa-shu-shae  we-gee-the-thae  dan  wa-nun-hae 
Man-b’thin-ah  tlio  shu-b’thae-ah  thin-ha. 

The  first  lines  are  syllables  having  no  definite  meaning  except 
as  the  music  gives  them  expression.  Zhin-ga-wa-shu-shae,  the  name 
of  the  hero  of  the  song  who  fell  in  battle ;  we-gee-the-thae  dan, 
when  I  remember  you  ;  wa-nun-hae,  spirit ;  Man-b’ thin-ali,  I  walk  ; 
sliu-b’thae,  I  am  coming ;  ak-thin-hae,  I  walk. 

The  words  are  modified  and  fitted  to  the  rhythm  of  the  song  and 
are  used  figuratively  rather  than  literally.  The  song  interpreted  is 
Zhin-ga-wa-shu-shae,  when  I  remember  you  I  walk  as  a  spirit,  I 
am  coming  to  become  such  ;  meaning  that  to  avenge  the  killing  of 
Zhin-ga-wa-shu-shae  death  must  be  faced,  and  he  who  avenges  may 
lose  his  life  ;  but  that  will  not  deter  the  warrior  who  declares  to  his 
friend  “I  am  coming.” 

This  old  song  was  used  to  commemorate  a  battle  with  the  Sioux 
some  fifty  years  ago,  and  Nan-kae-nae,  the  name  of  a  warrior  who 
then  fell  was  substituted,  his  mounded  grave  is  upon  the  bluffs  of 
the  Missouri  and  beside  that  grave  I  first  heard  this  song. 

Song  No.  21. 

Han-thin-gae  ae-ah-ma, 

Han-thin-gae  ae-ah-ma, 

Han-thin-gae  ae-ah-ma, 

Wa-kan-da  thin-gae  ae-ah-ma, 

Han-thin-ga  wae  tho  hae  tho-e 
Han-thin-gae  ae-ah-ma 
Wa-kan-da  thin-gae  ae-ah-ma 
Han-thin-ga  ivae  tho  hae  tho. 

An-thin  gae,  I  have  nothing,  literally,  and  so  used  in  ordinary 
speech ;  the  word  in  the  song,  however,  is  figurative,  I  become  as 
nothing,  vanish,  die  ;  in  the  prefixing  of  H  is  an  attempt  to  express 
the  feeling  of  self  abnegation  in  the  contemplation  of  death ;  ae- 
ah-ma,  they  say ;  Wakanda,  the  god  or  gods ;  thin-gae,  nothing, 
has  the  same  meaning  as  an-thin-gae,  the  first  syllable  is  omitted 
on  account  of  the  measure  of  the  line.  The  accents  of  the  words 
are  also  modified  to  suit  the  rhythm  and  Han-thin-gae  is  changed 
to  Han-thin-ga  before  the  syllable  wae  for  greater  euphony.  These 
words,  if  spoken  colloquially  in  the  order  here  given,  would  be 
without  meaning ;  but,  as  used  in  the  song,  in  a  figurative  and  ellip- 

261 


32  A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 

tical  sense,  they  become  highly  poetic,  and  take  possession  of  the 
mind.  Their  meaning  is,  the  lives  of  men  are  at  the  command  or 
in  the  keeping  of  the  gods,  ivhen  they  speak,  or  decree,  man  obeys 
or  yields  up  his  life.  The  song  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  Omaha 
tribe,  as  expressing  religious  emotion,  and  its  cadences  are  heard 
when  serious  thoughts  come  to  the  old  or  to  the  man  in  danger. 
I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  its  age,  but  it  was  known  in  the 
early  part  of  this  century,  and  probably  was  handed  down  from  the 
last. 

This  song  was  sung  by  the  members  of  the  Hae-thu-ska  when 
sitting  at  rest . 

Song  No.  22. 

Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan  shae-gan  ah-thin-hae  no 
Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan  shae-gan  ah-thm-hae  no 
Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan  shae-gan  ah-thin-hae  no 
Gha-gae-wa-thae  wa-oo  hae-the-gan-ae 
Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan  shae-gan  ah-thin-hae  no 
Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan  shae-gan  ah-thin-bae  no. 

Ah-tan  tan-bae  dan,  when  I  see  ;  shae-gan,  likewise  ;  ah-thin-hae, 
I  am  ;  no,  end  of  sentence  and  used  instead  of  the  ordinary  word 
ha  ;  Gha-gae-wa-thae,  name  of  the  man  whose  lack  of  fighting  abil¬ 
ity  is  signalized  in  the  song  ;  wa-oo,  woman  ;  hae-the-gan-ae,  like 
you.  The  song  is  old  and  refers  to  the  conduct  of  a  man  who  left 
his  wounded  comrade  on  the  field  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
whereas  a  brave  warrior  would  have  stood  beside  his  fallen  friend 
and  fought  until  death  or  victory  came.  The  words  of  the  song 
are  scant  and  used  elliptically  ;  the  meaning  is,  “when  in  a  conflict, 
do  I  act  like  you,  Gha-gae-wa-thae,  you  fled  as  a  woman  might 
have  done.” 

Song  No.  23. 

Ah-thu-ha  un-dum-ba-ga 
Un-dum-ba-ga  un-dum-ba-ga 
Ah-thu-ha  un-dum-ba-gae  tho  hae 
Ah-thu-ha  un-dum-ba-gae  tho  hae 
Um-ba  e-dan  hoo-ma-thun 
We-ae-b’thin  ae-dae  un-dum-ba-ga 
Ah-thu-ha  un-dum-ba-gae  tho  hae 
Ah-thu-ha  un-dum-ba-gae  tho  hae 


262 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


33 


Ah-thu-ha,  again ;  un-dum-ba-ga  or  Um-ba  e-clan,  in  the  coming 
day,  or  at  day  dawn,  see  me ;  hoo-ma-thin  they  who  howl.  The 
song  refers  to  the  wolf,  and  the  warrior  here  personifies  himself  as 
that  animal  and  bids  the  people  behold  him  who,  as  a  wolf,  is  seek¬ 
ing  his  prey  in  the  morning. 

The  song  was  composed  by  a  member  of  the  In-shta-suncla  gens, 
a  brave  man,  who  was  frequently  called  upon  to  act  as  a  soldier 
guard  to  maintain  order  when  the  people  were  on  the  hunt ;  he  would 
then  ride  singing;  “Once  again  you  shall  use  your  weapons  upon 
me,”  referring  to  the  liabilities  incurred  in  the  performance  of  the 
duties  imposed  upon  him  as  a  guard.  He  is  said  to  have  shaved  his 
hair  close  to  his  head  on  these  occasions,  painted  his  scalp  red, 
and  that  when  struck  by  any  resisting  hunter  no  blood  flowed  from 
the  wound. 

Song  No.  24. 

Ne-ka  we-ta  wa-gan-tha  te-bae-no 

Ne-ka  we-ta  wa-ga?i-tha  te-bae-no :  11  : 
Nu-dan-hun-ga  Ish-e-buz-zhe  tha-da-e  thm-kae-dae. 

Ne-ka  we-ta  wa-gan-tha  te-bae-no  :  11 : 

Ne-ka  is  part  of  the  word  ne-ka-she-ga,  pei’sons  or  people ;  we-ta, 
part  of  we-we-ta,  my ;  wa-gan-tha,  they  want ;  te-bae-no,  part  of 
ah-tebe-ah-no,  they  come;  Nu-dan-hun-ga,  Leader;  tha-da-e,  they 
call ;  thin-kae  describes  Jsh-e-buz-zhe  as  sitting ;  clae,  part  of  ae-ae- 
dae,  he  is  the  one.  The  song  refers  to  the  people  calling  for  their 
noted  Leader  Ish-e-buz-zhe  who  remained  sitting  in  his  tent,  when 
the  enemy  was  approaching  the  camp.  The  song  is  one  of  the 
oldest  known  and  a  great  favorite,  not  only  for  dancing,  but  because 
of  the  fame  of  Ish-e-buz-zhe,  who  lived  several  generations  ago ; 
his  eccentricities  form  part  of  the  nursery  lore  of  the  tribe,  so  to 
speak,  and  men  tell  of  his  queer  humorous  ways,  his  valor  when 
once  aroused,  and  his  great  physical  power.  A  very  old  man  who 
died  in  1884,  a  member  of  the  Tae-thm-dae  gens  and  therefore  a 
descendant  of  Ish-e-buz-zhe,  said  that  his  grandfather’s  grandfather 
when  he  was  young  saw  Ish-e-buz-zhe.  This  throws  the  song  back 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  at  the  lowest  computation ;  the 
man  who  died  in  1884  was  born  near  the  beginning  of  this  cen¬ 
tury.  His  statement  was  confirmed  by  another  very  old  man  of 
the  same  gens, 
p.  m.  papers  1  18 


263 


34 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


TO-KA-LO  SONGS. 

The  To-ka-lo  society  has  been  extinct  for  many  years.  It  was 
for  a  time  in  great  repute  with  the  warriors ;  its  dances  somewhat 
resembled  those  of  the  Hae-tlm-ska.  One  of  the  chief  features  of 
this  society  was  its  procession  about  the  tribal  circle,  when  all  the 
members  were  dressed  in  full  regalia  and  rode  their  best  horses  which 
were  elaborately  decorated.  Song  No.  25  was  sung  on  their  last 
parade  as  they  moved  slowly  on  their  curveting  steeds,  to  the  de¬ 
light  of  all  the  boys  in  the  camp ;  many  of  these,  to-day  mature 
men,  recall  the  scene  with  youthful  enthusiasm.  The  music  is 
well  suited  to  the  prancing  step  of  a  spirited  charger.  Very  few 
songs  survive  from  this  society. 

Secret  societies  had  their  songs.  A  few  of  these  and  all  of  the 
Ma-wa-da-ne  songs  were  borrowed  from  other  tribes. 


IiV-OU-TIxV  OR  GAME  SONGS. 

Game  songs  are  sung  by  }7oung  men  when  they  gamble  with 
sticks,  pebbles,  or  moccasins  either  for  fun  or  in  earnest.  Nos. 
26,  27,  28  and  29  afford  a  fair  representation  of  these  pretty  and 
spirited  tunes  which  are  repeated  ad  libitum ,  much  as  we  use  the 
jig  and  dance  tunes.  Words  are  seldom  employed :  there  are, 
however,  exceptions.  No.  26  is  an  instance.  E-ae  zhinga,  little 
stone;  da-dan  ska-hae,  what  are  you  making?  refers  to  the  tiny 
pebble  which  is  being  dexterously  tossed  from  one  hand  to  the  other, 
the  arms  keeping  the  rhythm  of  the  song ;  at  its  end  the  closed 
hands  are  stretched  out  for  persons  to  guess  in  which  one  is  the 
stone  and  so  win  or  lose  a  stake.  The  grace  and  precision  of  move¬ 
ment  together  with  the  liveliness  of  the  music  is  often  very  pleas¬ 
ing. 

The  alternate  rhythms  in  song  No.  27  are  marked  by  the  chang¬ 
ing  movements  of  those  playing  the  game. 

In  the  song  of  success  No.  29,  the  singer  humorously  asks,  as 
he  gathers  in  the  stakes  he  has  won,  “Friends  !  Why  is  it  j7ou  say 
I  am  little?” 

Children  have  songs  of  their  own  handed  on  from  older  sets  of 
playmates  to  the  younger  coming  after  them ;  they  are  sung  during 
games  such  as  “Follow  my  Leader”  (No.  30)  when  the  little  ones 
trot  along  keeping  time  to  the  tune. 

264 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


35 


The  Omahas  have  few  songs  of  their  own  composition  that  are 
used  simply  for  social  dancing.  The  Hae-kar-nee  of  the  Otoe  are 
favorites  for  this  purpose.  The  following  is  an  example  (No.  31). 

THE  WA-WAY. 

Wa-wan  means  to  sing  for  some  one  and  is  the  name  given  to 
the  ceremony  connected  wit  h  the  Pipes  of  Fellowship, — songs  form 
so  important  a  part  of  the  ritual  that  the  peculiar  pipes  used  in  this 
ceremony  are  called  Ne-ne-ba  wae-ak-wan,  pipes  to  sing  with.  The 
songs  are  accompanied  by  rhythmic  movements  of  the  Pipe  Bearers, 
and  also  of  the  Pipes,  which  are  swayed  to  the  music.  These  mo¬ 
tions  are  termed  Ne-ne  ba  ba-zkan,  shaking  the  W a-wan  pipes.  As 
the  rhythmic  movements  of  the  Pipes  and  their  Bearers  have  always 
attracted  the  attention  of  white  observers,  the  ceremony  has  been 
characterized  by  them  as  a  “Pipe-dance”  or  “Calumet  dance, ’’where¬ 
as  the  performance  does  not  convey  to  the  Omaha  mind  the  idea 
of  a  dance,  nor  do  the  movements  really  resemble  Indian  dancing, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  that  part  of  the  ceremony  which 
takes  place  on  the  fourth  night. 

The  ceremony  of  theWa-wa?i  consists  of  the  formal  presentation 
of  the  Wa-wan  pipes  by  a  man  of  one  gens  to  a  man  of  another 
gens,  or  a  man  of  one  tribe  to  one  of  another.  By  means  of  this 
ceremony  the  two  men  become  bound  by  a  tie  equal  in  strength  and 
obligation  to  that  between  father  and  son.  The  man  who  presents 
the  Pipes  is  called  Wa-wan  ah-ka,  the  one  who  sings  ;  the  man  who 
receives  them  is  spoken  of  as  Ak-wan  e-ah-ka,  the  one  who  is  sung 
to.  The  Wa-wan  ah-ka  must  be  of  good  standing  in  his  tribe  as 
must  also  be  the  recipient  of  the  Pipes ;  otherwise  the  chiefs  would 
refuse  to  permit  the  Wa-wan  to  take  place,  and  their  consent  is 
requisite  to  the  inauguration  of  the  ceremony. 

As  a  considerable  expenditure  of  property  is  necessary  for  the 
presenting  and  receiving  of  the  Pipes,  a  man  undertaking  the  cere¬ 
mony  mentions  his  plan  to  his  kindred  who  contribute  toward  the 
Hun-ga  wa-in,  or  gifts  which  go  with  the  Pipes,  and  in  the  same 
way  the  man  who  receives  the  Pipes  calls  on  his  kindred  to  help  in 
making  the  return  gifts.  These  gifts  all  count  in  a  man’s  tribal 
honors  and  are  all  made  in  the  interest  of  peace  and  fellowship. 

The  Wa-wan  ah-ka  provides  the  two  Pipes  :  these  are  ceremonially 
made,  with  secret  ritual,  are  not  used  for  smoking,  have  no  bowl, 

265 


36 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


and  are  ornamented  with  paint  and  the  feathers  of  birds,  every 
tint  and  article  in  their  construction  being  emblematic.  There  is  a 
crotched  stick,  Zhan-zha-ta,  for  the  Pipes  to  rest  upon ;  also  two 
gourd-rattles,  Pae-g’  hae,  and  a  bladder  tobacco  pouch,  Ne-ne- 
bakh-tae,  around  each  of  which  is  painted  a  symbolic  device,  a 
circle  representing  the  horizon,  with  four  projecting  lines  indicating 
the  four  points  of  the  compass  or  the  four  winds  ;  a  whistle  made 
from  the  wing  bone  of  an  eagle,  Ne-thn-dae  ;  three  downy  eagle 
feathers,  Hink-hpae,  and  the  skin  of  a  wild  cat  having  the  claws 
intact,  In-g’thun-ga-ha.  The  skin  forms  the  case  or  covering  for 
the  Pipes  and  the  other  ceremonial  articles. 

A  TTa-wa?r  party  usually  consisted  of  from  eight  to  twelve  men 
and  they  sometimes  traveled  over  two  hundred  miles  to  reach  their 
destination.  They  were  never  in  fear  of  hostile  attacks  by  the  way, 
war  parties  turning  to  one  side  and  letting  the  Pipes  of  Fellowship 
pass  in  peace. 

The  Wa-wan  has  been  observed  lay  many  tribes  of  different  lin¬ 
guistic  stocks.  Marquette,  in  1672,  says  that  the  Calumet  is  “the 
most  mysterious  thing  in  the  world.  The  scepters  of  our  kings  are 
not  so  much  respected,  for  the  Indians  have  such  a  reverence  for 
it  that  one  may  call  it  the  God  of  peace  and  war,  and  the  arbiter 
of  life  and  death.”  .  .  .  “One  with  this  Calumet  may  venture 
among  his  enemies  and  in  the  hottest  battles  they  lay  down  their 
arms  before  this  sacred  pipe.  The  Illinois  presented  me  with  one  of 
them  which  was  very  useful  to  us  in  our  vojmge.” 

Marquette’s  description  of  the  ceremony  he  witnessed,  making 
due  allowance  for  his  lack  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  Indian 
religious  customs,  indicates  that  there  has  been  little  change  in  the 
W a- wan  as  seen  two  hundred  years  ago  among  the  Algonquin  stocks, 
and  its  observance  bjT  the  Omahas  withiu  the  last  decade. 

The  ceremony  is  replete  with  symbolism,  from  the  rule  which  in 
token  of  humility  restrains  the  members  of  the  party  from  washing 
their  faces,  to  the  employment  of  the  little  child,  Hunga  (the 
Ancient  or  Leader),  from  whose  hands  the  gifts  are  bestowed  which 
count  as  honors  to  their  donors,  and  over  whose  head  the  teachings 
of  peace  are  delivered,  and  the  groove  along  the  pipe  stem  pointed 
out  as  the  straight  path  bright  with  sunshine  and  happiness  for  him 
who  will  pursue  it.  Said  an  Omaha  to  me,  “The  eagle  whose  feath¬ 
ers  deck  the  Pipes  and  the  wild  cat  whose  skin  is  their  covering 
266 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


37 


are  fierce  creatures  that  do  not  fail  of  their  prey,  but  iu  the  Pipes 
all  their  power  is  turned  from  destruction  to  the  making  of  peace 
among  men.” 

The  movements  of  the  Pipes  represent  the  eagle  rising  from  its 
nest  and  its  flight  on  this  mission  of  fellowship  and  peace  ;  the  songs 
constantly  refer  to  the  eagle,  to  the  clear  sky  symbolic  of  peace  and 
the  good  that  is  brought  mau  by  his  becoming  as  one  family,  or  as 
one  of  the  song  says  ‘‘bound  by  a  tie  stronger  than  the  one  of  the 
body” — meaning  that  between  father  and  son.1 

Song  No.  32  was  sung  en  route  before  the  party  dispatched  the 
runners  to  carry  their  gift  of  tobacco  to  the  man  to  whom  they  in¬ 
tended  to  present  the  Pipes.  The  words  mean,  “Whom  do  I  seek.” 

As  the  messenger  from  the  man  who  has  accepted  the  tobacco 
approaches  the  Wa-wan  party  he  is  greeted  with  song  No.  33  ; 
the  words  are,  “This  I  seek.”  There  is  a  double  meaning  in  this 
song  ;  it  implies  that  those  bringing  the  Pipes  seek  to  give  the  assur¬ 
ance  of  peace  to  the  gens  they  are  to  visit,  and  that  fellowship  is 
also  sought  by  those  about  to  entertain  the  Wa-wan  party. 

After  due  preparation  the  men  move  on  to  the  village,  generally 
about  half  a  mile  or  so  distant,  preceded  by  the  Pipe  Bearers  in 
ceremonial  costume,  and,  as  they  near  the  village  the  Pipes  are 
swayed  to  song  No.  34,  which  is  sung  four  times.  All  the  Wa- 
waii  songs  are  thus  repeated.  This  song  is  the  first  in  the  ritual 
to  mention  the  eagle.  The  words  say :  “We  have  reached  there, 
the  mother  screams  returning ;”  meaning,  after  our  long  journey  we 
near  the  place  to  w’hich  we  have  come  to  bring  peace  and  lay  the  Pipes 
at  rest,  and,  as  the  mother  eagle  screams  on  her  return,  that  her 
young  may  know  of  her  coming,  we  sing  as  we  come  bringing  peace. 

Having  entered  the  village  the  visitors  halt,  and  after  a  few  mo¬ 
ments,  again  advance  directing  their  steps  toward  the  lodge  set 
apart  for  the  ceremony.  They  move  to  the  beautiful  song  No.  35 
that,  once  heard,  can  hardly  be  forgotten.  The  words  are,  “This  is 
the  one  or  only  good,”  meaning,  The  peace  and  fellowship  which  I 
bring,  is  the  one  good  gift  for  man. 

At  the  back  of  the  lodge  a  place  is  set  apart  for  the  Pipes  where 
they  are  laid  at  rest  in  a  ceremonial  manner,  certain  forms,  move- 

1  An  account  of  this  ceremony  was  published  in  the  XVI  Report  of  the  Peabody  Mu¬ 
seum  of  American  Archseology  and  Ethnology;  years  of  additional  study  have  shown  a 
few  errors  in  that  narrative,  which  is  in  the  main  correct  although  not  complete  iu  all 
the  details,  or  the  bearing  of  the  ceremony  upon  the  tribal  organization. 


267 


38 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


ments  and  positions  being  carefully  observed.  The  Bearers  take 
their  station  just  behind  the  Pipes,  and  remain  there  during  the 
three  days  and  nights  required  for  the  full  performance  of  the  cer¬ 
emony.1 

The  Bearer  of  the  wild-cat  skin  lays  it  on  a  prepared  space  upon 
the  floor  of  the  lodge,  and  the  Pipe  Bearers  sing  the  songs  belonging 
to  the  ceremony  of  laying  down  the  Pipes ;  the  Pipes  are  swayed 
high  over  the  skin,  then  sweep  lower  and  lower,  rising  and  falling 
and  circling  as  does  the  eagle  over  its  nest.  With  the  final  cadence 
of  the  last  song  the  Pipes  are  laid  one  end  resting  on  the  skin  and 
the  mouth-piece  leaning  on  the  crotched  stick,  which  is  thrust  in 
the  ground  at  the  head  of  the  wild-cat.  Under  the  feather  orna¬ 
ments  of  the  Pipes  the  rattles  are  placed. 

There  are  several  songs  belonging  to  the  act  of  laying  down  the 
Pipes ;  two  of  the  more  popular  ones  are  given,  Nos.  36  and  37. 
There  are  no  words  except  Hu?i-ga,  and  this  refers  to  the  important 
part  in  the  ceremony  borne  b}r  the  child  Hunga. 

No.  38  is  always  sung  at  the  final  resting  of  the  Pipes  on  the 
cat-skin  and  crotched  stick. 

When  the  Ah- wan  e-ah-ka,  the  man  who  receives  the  Pipes,  ar¬ 
rives  in  the  lodge,  the  ceremonies  are  renewed;  the  Pipes  are  cere¬ 
monially  raised,  the  Bearers  lifting  and  holding  them  in  the  left 
hand,  taking  the  rattles  in  the  right — the  Pipes  are  first  waved  near 
the  ground,  then  higher  and  higher  until  during  the  final  song  they 
are  well  up  and  represent  the  eagle  ready  for  flight. 

Song  No.  39  suggests  the  eagle  stirring,  and  lifting  itself  from 
the  nest ;  as  the  wind  blows  the  branches  of  the  trees,  so  the  Pipes 
are  raised  and  the  song  stirs  the  hearts  of  the  people.2 

Among  the  Pawnees  it  is  the  custom  to  explain  many  of  the  songs, 
that  they  may  be  more  heartily  enjoyed. 

The  highly  poetic  character  of  the  Wa-wan  songs  and  of  this 
entire  ceremony  is  native ;  nothing  has  been  borrowed  from  our 
own  race  that  I  have  been  able  to  discover.  The  ethical  teachings 
are  in  strict  accordance  with  Indian  ideals  which  here  reach  some 
of  their  highest  expressions. 

1  The  great  change  which  lias  overtaken  the  Indian  in  his  mode  of  living,  his  present 
fanning  life,  prevents  these  lengthy  ceremonies  and  one  afternoon  and  evening  is  all 
that  can  now  he  given  to  the  Wa-wan  under  the  new  conditions. 

2  The  signification  of  these  songs  was  given  me  by  Indians  initiated  in  the  ritual  of 
the  ceremony.  Although  they  are  frequently  without  words,  or  with  only  fragmentary 
syllables,  their  meaning  is  inculcated  and  treasured  by  the  people. 

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39 


There  are  several  songs  belonging  to  the  ritual  of  raising  the 
Pipes.  No.  40  is  the  one  always  sung  at  the  close  of  this  movement 
and  its  final  exultant  phrase  indicates  the  eagle  fully  risen  ready 
for  the  onward  flight,  which  is  typical  of  the  sending  out  over  the 
people  the  message  of  peace. 

At  the  close  of  the  song  the  Pipe  Bearers  turn  to  the  left  and 
with  slow  rhythmic  steps,  face  the  people  sitting  in  groups  close 
to  the  walls  of  the  lodge,  the  drum  follows  accompanied  by  a  few 
singers  and  the  choral  No.  41  is  sung ;  the  Pipes  as  they  are  borne 
past  are  waved  over  the  heads  of  the  men  and  women  who  join  in 
the  song,  until  the  entire  lodge  is  vibrating  with  this  majestic  hymn 
of  welcome  to  peace.  The  words  are  few,  broken,  changed  and 
elliptical :  “This  is  what  is  given,  what  is  brought  to  you  — peace, 
brotherhood.”  “The  Pipes  are  of  God  !”  said  an  old  Indian  to  me 
at  the  close  of  this  song. 

The  Pipes  are  generally  carried  four  times  about  the  lodge,  a 
new  song  is  sung  for  each  circuit,  each  song  being  repeated  four 
times ;  a  pause  follows  the  close  of  the  repetition  of  each  song, 
while  the  singers  halt  for  a  moment.  There  is  a  large  number  of 
these  chorals — some  of  them  very  spirited,  some  full  and  solemn, 
some  delicate  and  tender  as  No.  42.  The  words  are  few.  Kae- 
tha  means  the  clear  sky  ;  een-tu?i-ee-nae,  now  coming.  The  mean¬ 
ing  of  this  song  was  given  me  by  Indians  who  were  responsible 
and  well  versed  in  the  ceremony.  “The  clear  sky,  the  green  fruit¬ 
ful  earth  is  good,  but  peace  among  men  is  better.”  The  music  is 
faithful  to  the  thought. 

No.  42  A  is  a  favorite  choral. 

Nos.  43  and  44  are  prayers  for  clear  weather.  Traces  of  ancient 
Sun  worship  are  recognizable  in  some  of  the  symbolic  adornments 
of  the  Pipes,  and  for  the  happy  issue  of  the  ceremony  wherein  peace 
and  fellowship  are  sought,  the  blessing  of  sunshine  is  considered 
essential ;  therefore  if  storms  come  during  the  performance  of  the 
Wa-wan,  the  people  cry  for  the  happy  omen  of  the  sunlight.  The 
words  are  broken  and  few,  but  the  choral  No.  44  is  full  and  solemn. 

After  the  lodge  has  been  circled  four  times  the  Bearers  stand  at 
the  back  of  the  lodge  facing  the  place  assigned  to  the  Pipes.  Then 
follow  the  songs  in  the  ritual  of  laying  down  the  Pipes,  and  when 
the  Pipes  are  at  rest,  speeches,  gifts  and  other  ceremonial  acts  take 
place.  Generally  the  Pipes  are  taken  up  and  the  lodge  circled 

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twice  during  the  first  three  evenings ;  the  ceremonies  of  the  fourth 
night  are  different. 

The  examples  of  Otoe  Wawan  songs  are  of  interest  musically. 
The  first  two,  Nos.  46  and  47,  are  sung  as  chorals  while  the  Pipes 
are  carried  around  the  lodge. 

The  beautiful  song  No.  48  is  sung  as  the  Pipes  are  laid  at  rest. 
It  is  a  great  favorite. 

Nos.  49  and  50  are  Pawnee  songs.  The  Wa-wan  music  of  this 
tribe  is  good  and  often  quite  spirited. 

On  the  fourth  night  the  dance  called  I-man-tha  is  performed,  but 
if  for  any  reason  the  ceremony  of  the  Wa-wan  is  not  to  be  complete, 
it  is  brought  to  a  close  prior  to  this  dance  ;  otherwise  the  final  dance 
called  Ba-zhan  takes  place  the  next  morning.  The  two  dances  are 
similar  in  movement,  but  the  latter  must  be  in  the  presence  of  the 
little  child,  Ilunga.  For  these  dances  two  athletic  young  men  from 
the  Wa-wan  party  strip  to  the  breech  cloth,  and  take  off  the  moc¬ 
casins  ;  a  red  circle,  typical  of  the  sun,  is  painted  on  the  breast  and 
back  and  a  hinkh-pae,  downy  eagle  feather,  tied  in  the  scalp  lock. 
The  Pipes  are  handed  to  the  dancers  with  certain  ceremonies,  and 
they  begin  their  dance,  advancing  and  retreating,  each  one  on  his 
own  side  of  the  fire,  and  waving  the  Pipe  high  over  his  head.  The 
movements  are  light,  rapid,  spirited  and  graceful;  the  songs  are 
different  from  any  used  in  other  parts  of  the  ceremony  and  are 
never  sung  except  for  the  Ba-zhan  or  I-man-tha.  During  this  dance 
the  Pipes  may  be  challenged  and  taken  from  the  dancer  by  some 
one  of  the  entertaining  party,  who  recounts  a  brave  act  or  generous 
deed.  He  then  lays  the  Pipe  down  at  the  spot  where  the  dancer 
was  checked,  and  it  can  only  be  tfiken  up  or  redeemed  by  some 
one  of  the  Wa-wan  party  who  matches  the  recited  deed  from  his 
own  experience,  and  restores  the  Pipe  and  the  interrupted  dance 
is  resumed ;  much  mirth  often  comes  in  play  at  this  part  of  the 
ceremony.  In  these  songs  there  are  generally  two  divisions,  an 
introduction  and  an  accompaniment  to  the  dancing  movements. 
As  the  dance  requires  great  agility  and  strength  it  is  of  short  dura¬ 
tion.  No.  51  is  an  example  of  these  songs. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day  before  sunrise  and  without  break¬ 
ing  their  fast,  the  Wa-wan  party  proceed  to  the  lodge  of  the  All- 
wan  e-ah-ka  taking  with  them  the  third  Hinkh-pae  and  the  clothing 


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41 


brought  to  dress  the  little  child  or  Hunga.  The  Pipes,  borne  by 
the  two  dancers  of  the  preceding  night,  lead  the  procession  and  the 
men  all  sing  the  ritual  song  No.  52.  The  words  are  :  Zhin-ga,  little 
or  child ;  the,  you ;  ou-we-nae,  I  seek.  I  seek  you  little  child  to 
be  the  Hunga. 

At  the  door  a  halt  is  made  and  song  No.  53  sung.  The  words 
are  :  “I  have  come,  I  seek  you,  child,  it  is  you  I  seek  as  Hunga.” 

After  this  the  party  enters  and  one  of  the  younger  children  of 
the  Ah-wan  e-ah-ka  is  handed  over  to  the  Leader  to  be  dressed  and 
painted.  This  is  done  by  a  man  of  valiant  record.  The  face  is 
painted  red  symbolic  of  the  dawn,  a  black  line  is  drawn  across  the 
forehead  and  down  each  cheek  and  the  nose,  indicative  of  the  ex¬ 
periences  of  life  and  death.  While  the  painting  is  being  done,  the 
Pipes  are  swayed  to  song,  No.  54.  The  words  are :  Ah-tha-ha, 
adhere  ;  thae,  this  ;  ah-thae,  I  make  it. 

After  the  painting  is  completed,  while  another  song  No.  55  is 
sung,  eagle  down  is  sprinkled  over  the  child’s  head  to  symbolize 
the  young  eagle,  and  the  Hinkh-pae,  downy  eagle  feather,  tied 
upon  its  hair.  The  words  of  this  ritual  song  are :  Ab-g’thae,  I 
make  it  stand,  Hunga. 

The  Wa-wan  ah-ka  or  Leader  of  the  Wa-wan  party  then  selects 
a  man  to  carry  the  Hunga  to  the  lodge  where  the  ceremonies  have 
been  held  during  the  past  four  days.  The  man  takes  the  child  upon 
his  back,  keeping  it  in  place  by  a  blanket  thrown  around  his  own 
shoulders,  and  walks  before  the  Pipes  and  the  Wa-wan  party  who 
follow  singing  No.  56,  “You  have  the  Hunga.”  The  Wa-wan  ah-ka 
takes  his  place  at  the  left  of  the  man,  who  outside  the  door  of  the 
lodge  sits  with  the  Hunga  between  his  knees. 

All  gifts  made  to  the  Wa-wan  party  are  sent  by  children  who  ad¬ 
vance  leading  the  ponies,  and  are  thanked  by  the  Hunga  who 
strokes  the  left  arm  of  the  messenger.  Sometimes  a  man  in  full 
gala  dress,  well  painted,  his  horse  also  decorated,  will  ride  up  in 
front  of  the  Hunga,  and  there  recount  his  valiant  deeds,  the  drum¬ 
mers  responding,  then  return  to  his  lodge,  and  send  back  the  horse 
as  a  gift  by  the  hand  of  his  little  child.  The  day  is  often  far  spent 
before  all  the  gifts  of  horses  are  gathered  together.  The  ceremon¬ 
ial  articles  are  left  with  the  All-wan  e-ah-ka  who  has  become  bound 
to  the  Wa-wan  ah-ka  and  his  gens,  as  a  son  to  a  father.  The  Wa- 
wan  party  hasten  to  start  on  their  homeward  journey,  and  camp 

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half  a  mile  from  the  village,  where  they  cook  anti  eat  their  first 
meal,  after  a  fast  of  nearly  twenty-four  hours. 

THE  FUNERAL  SONG. 

There  is  but  one  funeral  song  among  the  Omahas,  and  it  is  only 
sung  during  the  obsequies  of  a  man  or  woman  who  has  been  greatly 
respected  in  the  tribe. 

Upon  the  death  of  such  an  one,  the  men  in  the  prime  of  early 
manhood  meet  together  near  the  lodge  of  the  deceased,  divest 
themselves  of  all  clothing  but  the  breech-cloth,  make  two  incisions 
in  the  left  arm,  and  under  the  loop  of  flesh  thus  made,  thrust  the 
stem  of  a  willow  twig,  having  on  it  sprays  of  leaves.  With  their 
blood  dripping  upon  the  green  branches  hanging  from  their  arms, 
the  men  move  silently  to  the  lodge  where  the  dead  lies;  there 
ranging  themselves  in  a  line,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  marking 
the  rhythm  of  the  tune  by  beating  together  two  willow  sticks,  they 
sing  in  unison  the  funeral  song  No.  57.  There  is  a  violent  con¬ 
trast  between  the  bleeding  singers  and  their  vocal  utterances, 
for  the  music  in  its  major  strains  suggests  sunshine,  birds  and  ver¬ 
dure,  and  a  fleet,  happy  movement ;  nevertheless  there  must  be 
some  latent  harmony  between  the  song  and  the  ceremony.  Music, 
as  we  have  seen,  has,  according  to  Omaha  belief,  power  to  reach  the 
unseen  world.  The  spirit  of  the  dead  man  can  hear  the  song  as  it 
leaves  the  body,  and  the  glad  cadences  are  to  cheer  him  as  he  goes 
from  his  kindred.  He  hears  only,  he  cannot  see,  so  the  song  is  for 
him  ;  the  bleeding  body  is  an  expression  of  the  love  felt  by  the  liv¬ 
ing,  and  the  kindred  of  the  dead  can  see  the  blood  and  note  the 
manifested  honor  and  sympathy.  It  is  a  custom  among  the  Omahas 
to  cease  wailing  at  a  certain  point  in  the  funeral  ceremonies,  for  the 
reason,  the}^  sa}r,  that  the  departing  one  must  not  be  distressed  as 
he  leaves  his  home  behind  him.  And  it  is  also  customaiy  after  a 
death  to  lacerate  the  limbs,  as  the  shedding  of  blood  expresses  how 
vital  is  the  loss.  The  funeral  song  and  ceremony,  savage  as  they 
appear  at  first  sight,  are  really  full  of  tender  unselfishness,  and  in¬ 
dicate  a  strong  belief  in  the  continuation  of  life  and  its  affections. 


III.  INDIVIDUAL  SONGS. 

In  this  group,  under  seven  sub-groups,  are  classed  those  songs 
that,  in  their  origin,  are  expressions  of  personal  feeling  or  appeal. 
They  are  sung  either  as  solos,  or  by  companies  of  persons  who  are 
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43 


about  to  engage  in  a  common  action,  or  who  are  united  by  having 
received,  while  fasting,  visions  of  a  like  object. 

Sub-group  A  comprises  songs  pertaining  to  war.  These  fall  into 
four  divisions  : 

(а)  The  Me-ka-se  wa-an,  sung  at  the  initiation  of  warlike  ex¬ 
peditions. 

(б)  The  Na-g’the  wa-an,  used  when  the  warriors  are  in  the  field 
and  dangers  threaten  them. 

(c)  The  Wae-ton  wa-an,  chanted  by  the  women  in  behalf  of  men 
on  the  war-path. 

(d)  The  Wae-wa-che  wa-an,  the  song  of  triumph  over  the  fallen 
enemy,  sung  after  the  return  of  a  successful  war  party. 

The  songs  of  this  group,  although  taking  their  rise  in  personal 
experiences  or  emotions,  are  not  considered  as  the  sole  property  of 
the  composer,  but  can  be  learned  and  sung  by  the  people. 

Sub-group  B  contains  songs  of  mystery  which  directly  appeal  to 
the  unseen  forces  which  surround  man,  and  these  arrange  themselves 
in  five  divisions  : 

(а)  The  tribal  prayer. 

(б)  Songs  that  came  to  a  youth  during  his  fasting  vigil,  at 
which  time  the  Powers  appealed  to  revealed  themselves  to  the  sup¬ 
pliant  in  some  particular  form;  and  songs  thus  given  become  the 
medium  by  which  help  and  succor  are  asked  and  received  in  the 
hour  of  need.  Later  in  life  the  man  may  ally  himself  to  a  society 
composed  of  persons  who  have  received  a  similar  revelation  ;  for 
instance,  those  who  have  seen  a  horse  in  a  vision  are  eligible  to 
membership  in  the  Horse  Society,  or  those  to  whom  Thunder 
symbols  came  can  join  the  Thunder  Society.  Songs  of  this  divis¬ 
ion  while  they  are  sacred  to  the  man  who  receives  them  can  some¬ 
times  be  sung  by  members  of  the  society  to  which  the  man  belongs. 

(c)  In  this  division  are  grouped  the  songs  that  in  dreams  come 
to  a  man  together  with  the  knowledge  and  use  of  medicinal  roots 
and  herbs.  Some  of  these  songs  have  been  handed  down  for  gen¬ 
erations,  but  neither  songs  nor  knowledge  is  an  inheritance,  but  is  to 
be  had  by  purchase  only  ;  even  a  mother  will  not  impart  to  her  chil¬ 
dren  this  use  of  roots  without  a  quid  pro  quo.  The  songs  belong 
to  the  acts  of  seeking,  gathering  and  preparing  the  plants,  they 
may  be  heard  by  -any  one,  but  nobody  attempts  to  sing  them  as 
they  are  private  property,  and  so  respected  by  old  and  young. 

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A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


Sometimes  persons  having  knowledge  of  certain  remedies  assist  one 
another  in  the  management  of  cases,  as  the  Buffalo  doctors  have 
been  known  to  do.  These  men  in  a  vision  of  Buffalo  have  re¬ 
ceived  instructions  concerning  a  certain  remedy  efficacious  in  heal¬ 
ing  wounds,  to  be  applied  in  a  particular  manner  and  with  certain 
ceremonies  which  include  songs;  the  Buffalo  doctors  are  therefore 
specialists  and  treat  only  wounds.  The  songs  and  the  medicine  go 
together,  and  the  former  would  not  avail  without  the  latter. 

(cl)  These  songs  differ  from  those  of  the  preceding  division  in 
that  they  are  general  in  their  benefits  and  can  give  the  singer  suc¬ 
cess  in  hunting,  in  war,  or  in  any  of  his  undertakings. 

(e)  The  songs  of  this  division  bring  help  to  the  hunter  or  trapper  ; 
the}^  too  can  be  bought,  and  must  be  sung  after  the  traps  are  set 
or  before  the  hunter  seeks  the  game.  They  have  power  to  entice 
the  animals,  and  cause  them  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  singer. 

Sub-group  C  comprises  Songs  of  Thanks.  These  are  sung  when 
gifts  are  publicly  bestowed  and  received  ;  they  are  bought  and  sold. 

Sub-group  D  comprises  songs  that  occur  in  myths.  They  are  the 
delight  of  the  children  who  use  them  in  their  games  and  they  form 
the  only  nursery  music  known  in  the  tribe. 

Sub-group  E  are  the  Wa-oo  wa-aa.  These  songs  relate  to  the 
adventures  and  experiences  of  young  men  and  women,  and  are  some¬ 
what  of  the  ballad  order. 

Sub-group  F  are  the  Be-thae  wa-an  or  love  songs,  sung  by  young 
men  during  courtship. 

Sub-group  G:  Flageolet  Music.  The  flageolet  is  the  musical  in¬ 
strument  of  young  men  and  is  principally  used  in  love  affairs  to  at¬ 
tract  the  attention  of  the  maiden  and  reveal  the  presence  of  the  lover. 

SUB-GROUP  A,  SONGS  PERTAINING  TO  WAR. 

(a)  Me-ka-see  wa-an :  Me-ka-see,  wolf ;  wa-a?i,  song.  The  wolf 
is  the  patron  of  the  warrior ;  the  man  on  the  war-path  speaks  of 
himself  as  a  wolf.  When  a  number  of  men  have  decided  to  go  out 
as  a  war  party,  they  meet  together  and  perform  the  Me-ka-see  dance 
and  sing  the  Me-ka-see  wa-an.  These  songs  are  also  sung  as  the 
warriors  leave  the  village,  going  forth  on  a  long  expedition,  or  when 
the  party  is  travelling  and  in  no  immediate  danger. 

Song  No.  58  was  composed  by  the  Leader  of  a  war  party  when 
he  had  been  a  long  time  away  from  the  tribe  and  all  the  men  were 
homesick.  The  song,  although  giving  vent  to  their  unhappiness, 
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45 


seems  to  have  cheered  the  warriors,  they  persevered  in  their  ad¬ 
venture  and  returned  to  the  village  with  trophies  of  their  success. 
The  song  opens  with  syllables  expressive  of  war-like  emotion  over¬ 
shadowed  by  memory  of  the  home  scenes.  The  words  are  :  wa-oo, 
women;  ah-ma,  they;  wae-tha-he-ba,  have  gone  for  wood  ;  hoo- 
zha-wa,  are  happy;  hte,  really  or  very;  ma-thin-ah  mae-in-tae, 
they  must  be  walking  ;  thae-thu,  here  ;  wakh-pa-thm,  very  poor  ;  hte, 
very  ;  mum-b’thm  ah-thin-hae,  I  walk. 

“The  women  have  gone  to  gather  wood  and  are  having  a  joyous 
time  chatting  amid  the  trees,  while  here  very  miserable  am  I  walk¬ 
ing”  is  the  picture  conveyed  by  the  song  which  closes  with  war-like 
syllables. 

No.  59  commemorates  a  victory  over  the  Pawnees,  when  an 
Omaha  war  party  divided,  and,  simulating  peaceable  white  men  by 
swinging  their  arms  as  they  walked,  approached  the  Pawnee  village, 
and  fell  upon  the  people  before  they  had  discovered  the  ruse. 

The  words  are:  We-tun-gae,  sister;  sae-sa-sa,  trotting;  a n- 
thun-wun-ge-ha,  follows  me. 

The  women  who  accompanied  the  war  party  shared  the  dangers 
and  were  awarded  their  portion  of  the  spoils.  The  song  refers  to 
them. 

In  the  song  No.  60,  the  warrior  declares  that  he,  like  the  wolf, 
has  no  fear  in  venturing  into  distant  and  strange  lands.  The 
words  are  few,  barely  expressing  the  sentiment,  the  music  and  syl¬ 
lables  giving  amplification.  The  song  is  liked  by  brave  men,  and 
is  quite  spirited. 

Me-ka-see,  wolf ;  ah-ma,  they ;  ma-zhan,  land  ;  num-pa,  fear ; 
ba-zlie,  not ;  ba,  like  them  ;  hae-ge-mim,  I  am  so.  The  words  are 
blended  and  modified  in  the  song. 

( b )  Na-g’thae  wa-an.  Na-g’thae  means  captive:  the  war¬ 
rior  if  taken  captive  goes  to  his  death,  therefore  the  word  is  to  the 
soldier  the  synonym  of  death.  These  songs  are  sung  when  dangers 
threaten  and  death  is  near.  They  are  sometimes  sung  by  the 
Leader  to  inspirit  the  men,  or  by  individuals  of  the  party,  who  thus 
strengthen  their  own  courage  to  meet  death.  No.  1,  referred  to 
on  page  13,  belongs  to  this  group. 

No.  61  is  a  rallying  song.  Ae-de,  there;  un-ga-thae-tae,  let  us 
go;  ka-gae,  friend  ;  the-tun-gae,  your  sisters;  mm-he-tha,  fright¬ 
ened  as  in  danger;  be-dan,  when  they;  tlum-zae,  but;  ma-thin-un- 
ga  thae-tae,  walk  let  us. 


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Sisters  refer  to  tbe  women  of  the  tribe  who,  if  not  defended,  or  if 
the  warriors  are  unsuccessful,  will  be  left  exposed  to  the  enemy; 
hence  the  appeal  “Hae!  Friend  let  ns  go  to  the  rescue,  your  sisters 
are  in  danger,  let  us  walk,  Hae!  Friend  !” 

The  music  suggests  that  the  path  of  duty  is  not  easy,  the  rhythm 
gives  the  call,  the  urgent  appeal  and  the  movement  are  fitted  to 
the  stress  of  feeling. 

No.  62  expresses  the  willingness  of  the  warrior  to  go  forth  to 
fight.  He  would  rise  with  the  dawn,  and  like  the  day  increase  in 
power,  following  his  leader.  Um-ba,  day;  edan,  approaching; 
nan-koo-thae,  hasten ;  lum-the-be-ga,  take  me ;  Nu-dan-liun-ga, 
Leader;  ah-yae-zhum-mae-tho,  the}’  may  have  said. 

The  day  is  approaching,  Hai !  Nu-dan-hun-ga  hasten  to  lead  me 
forward. 

Song  No.  63  tells  its  own  story — words  and  music  being  closely 
woven  about  the  thought  of  death.  E-bae-tan,  to  go  around,  as 
around  an  obstacle  or  to  circumvent  a  threatened  disaster ;  thin- 
gae,  none  ;  ish-ah-ga,  old  men  ;  ma,  the  plural ;  wa-gun-za-be-dan, 
when  they  tell  ;  shae-ah,  yonder  ;  he-be-tae,  reached  that  first ;  ah- 
buz-zhe-tae,have  not  said  ;  Nu-dan-hun-ga,  Leader  ;  tae-hae,  the  dif¬ 
ficult,  hard  to  accomplish. 

There  is  no  evading  death.  The  old  men  have  not  told  that  any 
one  has  found  a  way  to  pass  beyond  it.  The  career  of  a  Leader  is 
difficult  of  accomplishment. 

(c)  The  Wae-ton  wa-an  are  sung  by  women  in  mature  life  stand¬ 
ing  before  the  lodge  of  a  family,  one  or  more  of  whose  members  are 
on  the  war  path.  The  songs  are  accompanied  by  beats  upon  a  raw 
hide,  which  serves  as  a  drum.1  These  songs  are  spoken  of  as  Wa- 
zhin-thae-thae ;  this  word  indicates  that  through,  or  by  means  of 
these  songs,  strength,  power,  passion  is  sent  to  the  warrior  assist¬ 
ing  him  to  be  victorious  in  battle.  The  family  thus  remembered 
bestow  gifts  upon  the  singers,  who  by  these  Wae-ton  vva-a n  have 
helped  the  distant  husband  or  brother  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

No.  64.  The  words  of  the  song  are  few  and  used  elliptical!}’. 
Nu-dan-hunga,  Leader ;  wa-shu-shae,  brave;  sua  yae,  are  always  ; 
ae-de-he-ke,  when  he  arrives.  The  meaning  is:  When  one  is  a 

1  At  the  Snn  dance  among  the  Dakotas  the  song,  sung  at  the  beginning  of  that  part  of 
the  ceremony  when  the  men  are  tortured  at  the  pole, is  led  by  women  who  hold  as  they 
beat  it,  a  raw  hide,  in  place  of  a  drum. 

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47 


Leader  he  must  always  be  brave,  and  when  he  (the  one  of  whom 
the  women  sing)  reaches  the  enemy  he  will  not  fail  to  be  brave. 

No.  65.  This  song  is  serious  and  replete  with  feeling ;  note  the 
change  of  time  in  connection  with  the  meaning  of  the  words.  These 
are  not  easy  to  translate  so  as  clearly  to  reflect  the  full  meaning. 
Ka-gae,  Friend;  tae-he,  difficult ;  lia-ee  thun-zha ;  they  say  but; 
liae  ish-ah-gae,  the  old  men  ;  wa-ga?uza-be-dan,  when  they  teach 
or  exhort;  nu,  man;  tae,  to  be;  tha-tlnm-ga  ta-dun,  that  you  are 
to  find  out;  shun-tha-the-shae,  that  is  the  reason  you  are  going. 
Friend  !  the  old  men  in  their  exhortations  have  said,  it  is  hard  to 
be  a  man,  to  be  able  to  meet  hardships  and  overcome  difficulties  ; 
to  learn  this  for  yourself  you  are  now  in  quest  of  the  enemy. 

The  words  in  No.  66  are  few  but  full  of  assurance.  The  open¬ 
ing  phrases  are  accompanied  by  syllables  only,  so  also  the  last 
two,  one  phrase  alone  is  supplied  with  words. 

Ae-de-he-ke,  when  he  gets  there ;  wa-shu-sha,  brave ;  meaning 
when  he,  the  warrior  who  has  gone  forth,  reaches  the  enemy  he  will 
be  brave. 

The  words  of  Song  No.  67  are  difficult  to  translate  literally. 
Oo-hae-ke-tha-mae  can  be  rendered  by,  “they  gave  him  his  way” 
the  obstinate  person  who  persists  in  the  face  of  the  setting  forth 
by  friends  of  the  dangers  that  beset  the  course  he  wishes  to  pursue, 
is  at  last  left  to  follow  his  desire,  to  have  his  own  way.  Wa-ba- 
ska  is  a  name  that  was  used  in  this  song  while  its  possessor  was 
on  the  war  path,  but  any  name  can  be  introduced;  gha-gae,  cry; 
wa-tha-stan-zheahdan-hae,  did  not  cease. 

He  did  not  cease  to  cry,  or  plead,  so  they  gave  him  his  way. 

The  music  of  No.  68  is  Dakotan.  The  song  was  adopted  bj'the 
Poncas  who  supplied  their  own  words,  and  the  Omahas  took  it  from 
the  Poncas.  It  was  sung  by  the  Dakota  women  when  the  warriors 
moved  out  of  the  camp.  As  it  is  a  foreign  song  among  the  Omahas, 
it  is  sometimes  used  as  a  Wae-ton  wa-a n  and  sometimes  as  a  Wae- 
wa-che  wa-an. 

The  words  are  Ou-ke-tae  ah-ma,  the  tribes ;  the-nun-un-ta- 
yae,  that  they  may  hear  you  ;  wash-konae  gun-yah-hae,  exert ;  3'ali- 
hae  is  the  woman’s  form  of  command.  Exert  yourselves  that  the 
tribes  may  hear  of  your  bravery. 

(d)  The  Wae-wa-che  wa-an  are  songs  of  triumph,  sung  when 
the  dance  around  the  scalp  of  a  fallen  enem}’  is  in  progress.  Parts 
of  these  songs  are  sometimes  sung  by  women  alone. 


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The  music  of  No.  69  is  quite  expressive  of  the  movements  of 
one  carefully  making  his  way  through  the  tall  prairie  grass,  avoid¬ 
ing  observation  that  he  may  successfully  capture  the  horses  of  his 
enemy. 

Sha  an  zhinga,  little  Sioux;  shon-gae,  horses;  the-ta,  your;  ou- 
dan,  good  ;  hoo-wa-nae,  I  seek. 

Little  Sioux,  I  seek  your  good  horses. 

No  70  is  full  of  assurance  and  taunting  and  the  music  is  lively 
and  stimulating  to  pride.  Oo-tha-zha-zhae-gan,  you  emulated; 
in-tae-dae,  and  now,  or  in  consequence  ;  tha-gha-gae,  you  weep  ;  ou- 
tha-dae,  people  ;  the-shon,  surrounding ;  we-sna-hte,  I  only  ;  un-wun- 
shu-shae,  I  am  brave. 

You  (the  enemy)  emulated  me  (the  Oraahas)  and  now  you  cry. 
Among  the  surrounding  people  I  (the  Omahas)  only  am  brave — 
because  you  emulated  my  deeds,  you  weep  for  your  slain. 

Zan-zhe-mim-dae,  the  person  mentioned  in  Song  No.  71,  was  a 
very  old  man  when  the  incident  which  gave  birth  to  the  song  oc¬ 
curred.  There  had  been  an  attack  on  the  village,  and  the  enemy 
had  been  driven  off  with  such  vigor  that  they  were  obliged  to  leave 
their  slain  on  the  field.  As  the  warriors  rode  toward  the  dead  to 
claim  their  honors,  the  old  man,  Zan-zhe-mim-dae,  was  seen  coming 
as  fast  as  his  feebleness  would  allow;  the}'  halted  for  him  to  join 
them,  and  permitted  him  out  of  respect  to  his  age  and  previous 
valiant  career,  to  touch  the  dead,  and  thus  carry  off  one  of  the 
coveted  honors. 

The  words  ali-ma,  he;  sha-ee,  is  coming,  are  the  only  ones  used  ; 
the  rest  are  syllables. 

Song  No.  72  has  reference  to  the  Dakotas  who  were  almost  con¬ 
stantly  at  war  with  the  Omahas  during  the  present  century.  The 
words  are  modern,  but  the  music  is  old  ;  the  same  is  true  of  other 
TV ae-  w  a-ch  e  wa-an . 

Sha-an  zhinga,  little  Sioux ;  ae-ge-zhan-dan,  because  you  have 
done  so;  Ae-ge-ma,  I  have  done;  ae-ah-tan,  why;  tha-gha-gae,  do 
you  weep. 

Little  Sioux,  why  do  you  weep,  because  I  have  done  what  you  have 
done,  that  is,  the  Sioux  attacked  the  Omahas  and  killed  some  of 
the  tribe,  the  Omahas  retaliated  and  the  Sioux  lost  some  of  their 
number.  The  song  asks  why  they  should  mourn  who  have  received 
the  same  treatment  they  gave  to  others. 

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49 


SUB-GROUP  B,  MYSTERY  SONGS. 

(a)  The  Tribal  Prayer,  No.  73,  is  the  prayer  which  is  taught 
the  child  when  he  is  sent  forth  to  fast  and  praj-  alone,  if  haply  he 
may  obtain  a  vision  which  shall  be  a  help  during  all  his  life.  There 
is  only  this  one  prayer  in  the  tribe,  and  it  is  applicable  to  all  sol¬ 
emn  experiences  and  important  events  in  the  life  of  every  one.  It 
is  often  heard  when  the  lightning  flashes,  and  the  thunder  rolls, 
and  the  singer  goes  alone  to  lift  up  his  voice  to  the  mighty  powers 
of  the  air. 

The  words  are  TTa-kan-da,  G-od  ;  thae-thu,  here  ;  Wah-pa-thm, 
poor  or  needy  ;  ah-tan-hae,  I  stand. 

God  !  here,  poor  and  needy,  I  stand. 

(&)  The  spirited  Mystery  song  No.  74  exemplifies  the  movement 
of  the  Horse,  not  any  particular  horse,  but  that  creative  power  or 
force  which  is  embodied  in  the  form  of  the  horse.  This  song  may 
be  sung  in  time  of  danger  or  when  the  man’s  horse  is  to  be  tested 
as  to  its  speed  or  endurance.  After  the  singing  of  this  song  the 
animal  is  supposed  to  be  reinforced  by  the  spirit  Horse. 

Nun-gae,  gallop;  sha-tha-mae,  there  they  go  ;  shon-gae,  horse , 
weta,  contractions  of  we-we-ta,  my  or  mine  ;  pa-hun-ga,  first ;  thin, 
the  ;  ae-ahma,  they  sajT. 

There  they  go  galloping, 

My  horse  leading,  they  sa)T. 

The  word  ae-ah-ma,  they  say,  at  the  close  of  the  song,  indicates 
that  the  man  is  not  merely  describing  something  he  has  seen,  but 
something  that  has  been  interpreted  to  him  to  mean  that  his  guar¬ 
dian,  his  especial  spirit,  would  lead  him  and  bring  him  to  success. 

In-g’than  wa-an,  or  Thunder  songs,  belong  to  this  subdivision. 
Men  who  sing  these  songs  have  in  their  visions  seen  the  symbol  of 
Thunder  and  heard  the  song  which  will  have  power  to  reach  the  god 
of  the  storm.  By  these  melodies  rain  can  be  secured  or  the  tempest 
stilled,  and  lightning  maj’  be  called  down  to  destroy  man.  These 
songs  are  also  sung  in  the  sweat  lodge  during  purification,  or  when 
seeking  to  arrest  death. 

The  words  in  Song  No.  75  speak  of  the  Thunder  gods  as  “my 
friends”  and  their  dwelling  place  or  village  is  referred  to  and  they 
are  the  gods  who  are  speaking  in  the  thunder, 
p.  m.  papers  1  19 


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E-ka-gae,  my  friends  ;  e-ak-mae,  they  speak ;  Ta-wan-g’thun 
the  village  or  people  of  the  village  ;  Wakanda,  gods  ;  ma,  plural. 

My  friends  they  are  speaking 

The  people  of  the  village  are  speaking. 

The  gods  they  are  speaking. 

Song  7G  has  no  words.  It  is  sung  during  the  Thunder  rites. 

No.  77,  contrary  to  the  usual  manner  of  rendering  these  songs, 
can  be  sung  by  nine  old  men,  all  of  them  Thunder  dreamers,  as 
they  move  solemnly  around  the  camp  circle  generally  during  the 
night.  The  words  are  somewhat  obscure,  they  speak  of  the  Thun¬ 
der  gods  going  around,  encompassing,  circumventing;  and  declare 
that  the  gods  make  fearful,  are  themselves  objects  of  fear  to  man. 
The  music  has  a  dramatic  suggestiveness  in  sympathy  with  the 
vagueness  of  the  words;  the  effect  is  heightened  by  the  accompani¬ 
ment  of  bells. 

(c)  Songs  in  this  subdivision  find  their  inspiration  in  visions 
which  have  conveyed  to  man  a  knowledge  of  medicinal  plants  use¬ 
ful  in  sickness  or  injuries. 

No.  78  is  sung  by  the  Buffalo  doctors  when  attending  a  wounded 
man — during  the  preparation  and  application  of  the  remedy  to  the 
wound.  The  medicine  is  generally  sprayed  from  the  lips  with  con¬ 
siderable  force  so  that  it  may  reach  every  part  of  the  lacerated 
flesh.  The  song  indicates  that  this  mode  of  treatment  was  incul¬ 
cated  in  the  vision. 

“From  here  do  I  send  it  (the  medicine  to  the  wound)  thus, — in 
this  manner  am  I  bidden  to  send  it.” 

Thae-thu-tun,  from  here  ;  thae-ali-tkae,  do  I  send  ;  Ae-gtm,  thus  ; 
ne-thun,  the  water  or  medicine  ;  shan-ah-dan,  I  am  bidden. 

(cl)  The  songs  belonging  to  this  subdivision  are  potent  to  se¬ 
cure  general  benefits,  and  do  not  belong  to  any  one  avocation.  The 
singer  by  means  of  this  Mystery  wa-an  can  achieve  success  in  any 
of  his  undertakings.  These  songs  can  be  purchased,  but  the  sell¬ 
ing  does  not  preclude  the  use  of  the  song  by  the  seller.  Several 
men  may  therefore  use  the  same  song. 

No.  79  is  an  example.  The  words  “walk  this  way”  toward  me, 
the  singer,  convey  the  invitation  to  that  which  he  seeks,  to  jdeld 
to  the  magic  of  the  song. 

Du-da-ha,  this  way  ;  man- thin,  walk.  These  are  the  only  words  ; 
the  syllables  carry  the  musical  tones  and  fuller  meaning. 

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51 


(e)  Trapping  and  hunting  songs ;  sung  after  setting  the  trap, 
and  before  tracking  the  game.  The  songs  are  seldom  elaborate  in 
melody  or  rhythm. 

SUB-GROUP  C,  SONGS  OF  THANKS. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  varied  songs  in  this  group,  they  are 
always  sung  in  acknowledgment  of  a  gift.  When  a  poor  man  is 
remembered  he  generally  goes  outside  the  lodge  and  in  the  hearing 
of  the  entire  village  sings  the  song  which  tells  of  his  good  fortune, 
and  proclaims  the  name  of  his  benefactor.  When  gifts  are  made 
and  received  between  men  of  equal  standing,  the  songs  are  apt  to 
be  sung  in  the  company  only  of  those  who  happen  to  be  present ; 
at  the  same  time,  however,  some  old  man  less  fortunate  in  his  life 
who  may  have  been  the  recipient  of  favors  from  either  one  of  the 
parties,  will  go  abroad  to  proclaim  in  a  public  manner  the  gifts  that 
have  been  thus  bestowed  privately. 

No.  80  gives  an  idea  of  this  class  of  songs.  The  name  of  the 
giver  is  always  introduced  in  the  beginning  of  the  second  part  of 
the  song,  followed  by  the  words  tha-un-tha-thae,  you  pity  me,  have 
compassion  on  me ;  win-tha-kae,  you  are  true. 

When  the  name  of  the  giver  is  short,  syllables  are  added  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  music. 

SUB-GROUP  D,  MYTH  SONGS. 

These  are  bits  of  songs  which  occur  in  the  myths  that  are  told 
during  the  winter  days  and  evenings  ;  they  are  generally  attributed 
to  the  animals  who  are  so  often  the  heroes  of  these  tales.  These 
melodies  are  sung  by  the  women  to  amuse  the  children  who  catch 
them  readily  and  in  their  childish  way  dramatize  that  portion  of 
the  myth  wherein  the  song  occurs,  singing  the  melody  with  childish 
fervor. 

When  No.  81  is  well  rendered,  there  is  much  humor  in  the  de¬ 
scending  notes  beginning  withoh-hae-o,  hae-o,  etc.,  and  the  assertive 
conclusion  “they  have  gone  to  the  spirit,”  “they  have  gone  to  the 
spirit.”  The  song  never  fails  to  delight  all  hearers. 

Ma-stin-gae,  rabbit;  shae-tha-thm-shae,  yonder  going  you;  win- 
jae-ga-tha-thin  shae,  where  are  you  going ;  wa-na-hae-tha-ba,  they 
have  gone  to  the  spirits. 


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SUB-GROUP  E,  WA-00  WA-AY. 

This  group  of  songs  has  already  been  charactertized  on  p.  14. 

No.  82  is  the  confession  of  a  woman  to  the  man  she  loves,  that 
he  had  conquered  her  heart  before  he  had  achieved  a  valorous  repu¬ 
tation.  The  song  opens  upon  the  scene.  The  warrior  has  returned 
victorious  and  successfully  passed  through  the  rites  of  the  Tent  of 
War,  so  he  is  entitled  to  wear  his  honors  publicly  ;  the  woman  tells 
him  how  when  he  started  on  the  war  path,  she  went  up  on  the  hill 
and  standing  there  cried  to  Wa-kan-da  to  grant  him  success.  He 
who  had  now  won  that  success  had  even  then  vanquished  her  heart, 
“had  caused  her  to  die”  to  all  else  but  the  thought  of  him. 

The  modification  and  the  choice  of  words  and  the  use  of  the 
syllables  indicate  metrical  feeling  and  expression. 

Nu-dan  tha-g’the-u/i  dan 
Ae-tae-un  tha-thae-thae 
Nu-dan  tha-g’the-o/i-dan 
Ae-tae-un  tha-thae-thae 
Nu-dan  tha-g’the-o/i-dan 
Ae-tae-un  tha-thae-tha  ya  tha  ya  hi 
Ha  tha  ha  tha 

Nu-dan  snae-tae-de  wa-kan-da  wae-ka-tun-hae  time 
Wakanda  ae-hae-ah  tun-hae  time 
Ae-tae-un  tha-thae-tha  ya  tha  ya  hi. 

Nu-dan,  war ;  tha-g’the-dan,  when  you  returned ;  ae-tae-un, 
die  ;  tha-thae-thae,  you  caused  me  ;  snae-tae-de,  go  when  you  did  ; 
Wa-kan-da,  God  ;  wae-ka-ah,  I  appealed  ;  tun-hae,  standing. 

No.  83  is  difficult  to  translate  so  as  to  convey  its  humor  and 
sarcasm.  The  song  purports  to  be  sung  by  a  man  of  the  Don  Juan 
type ;  he  sits  upon  a  hill  overlooking  the  villnge,  the  murmurs  of 
the  people  come  up  to  him  as  they  talk  of  his  entanglements  in  un¬ 
complimentary  speeches  interspersed  with  threats  ;  he  however  shifts 
all  responsibilit}7,  saying,  “The  gods  have  made  me  what  I  am” 
irresistible ! 

Ta-wun-gthun,  village;  thae-nun-yae  dae,  this  many ;  un-thun- 
ge-ah,  of  me  they  talk  ;  thun-kae,  group  ;  Wa-kan-da,  Gods  ;  hae-ge- 
mun-tae,  what  I  am  ;  in-thin-ga-yae,  of  me  they  decreed — h  is  added 
•for  euphony  ;  ga-ma,  yonder  they  ;  he-ah-mae,  they  talk. 

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53 


No.  84  is  derisive  in  spirit.  An  aunt,  whose  lover  had  left  her 
and  gone  to  her  niece,  acquaints  the  girl  witii  the  young  man’s  pre¬ 
vious  attachment.  He  who  so  “skilled  in  speech”  considers  him¬ 
self  able  to  captivate  both  old  and  young. 

Thae-thu-tan,  from  here ;  sha-tha-yae,  he  went  to  you ;  we-tu- 
zhon-gae,  my  niece ;  e-ae,  speech ;  tha-pe-ba,  he  is  skilled ;  han- 
wan-ke-ah,  he  spoke  to  me;  Wa-han-thin-gae,  orphan,  name  given 
the  youth. 

No.  85  gives  a  glimpse  into  the  life  of  a  woman  whose  circum¬ 
stances  keep  her  from  the  man  of  her  choice ;  she  pleads  with  him 
to  flee  with  her  from  the  tribe  and  go  to  the  Ponkas. 

Dude-ha,  nearer  this  way ;  un-dum-bae,  me  look  at ;  nuz-zhin, 
stand  ;  ae-thum-bae,  appear ;  ah-ya-nuz-zhbi-dan,  I  stand  when ; 
the-shna,  you  only  ;  ou-we-b’the-zhe-dae,  I  look  for  you  ;  een-u-dan, 
I  am  content ;  muz-zhe-hae,  I  am  not ;  Kan-zae-zhin-ga,  man’s 
name  ;  Ponkata,  to  the  Ponkas  ;  un-ga-thae  tae-hae,  let  us  go. 

SUB-GROUP  F,  LOVE  SONGS. 

The  Be-thae  wa -an,  or  love  songs,  are  sung  in  the  early  morning 
about  daybreak.  The  few  words  that  are  set  to  the  music  refer  to 
the  time  of  day.  The  young  man  seeks  a  vantage  point  and  there 
sings  his  lay,  the  girl  within  the  tent  hears  him  and  perchance  by 
and  by  they  may  meet  at  the  spring,  the  trysting  place  of  lovers. 

The  syllables  lend  themselves  to  a  flowing  breathing  sound,  and 
the  hand  is  sometimes  waved  before  the  mouth  to  enhance  the  ef¬ 
fect  by  vibrations.  The  music  is  sung  ad  libitum  as  feeling  may 
sway  the  singer. 

No.  86  is  very  charming  when  sung  with  expression.  The  long 
notes  suggest  echoes,  and  the  solitariness  of  the  woods.  The 
music  is  as  simple  and  untutored  as  the  flowers  that  are  often  the 
only  listeners. 

No.  87  is  blithe  and  full  of  the  joy  of  spring  and  the  delightsome¬ 
ness  of  youth.  There  are  no  suggestions  of  shadows  in  the  song, 
no  questionings,  only  a  bubbling  of  happiness. 

No.  88  is  more  serious  in  feeling,  and  there  is  a  consciousness 
of  nature,  expressed  in  the  music  and  of  the  passion  felt  for  the 
object  of  the  young  man’s  affection.  The  few  words  are  umba, 
day  ;  e-dan,  approaching,  or  dawn ;  hoo-we-nae,  I  seek  you. 

No.  89  is' full  of  the  movements  of  dawn,  the  gentle  breeze  that 
heralds  the  day,  stirring  the  leaves,  nodding  the  flowers,  and  awak- 

283 


54 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


ening  the  birds.  The  youth  comes  forth  with  the  light,  his  love 
overflowing  in  song,  and  the  maid  feels  the  day  dawning  in  her 
breast ;  lovers,  birds  and  the  very  sky  are  all  in  accord. 

No.  90  would  be  recognized  as  a  love  song  wherever  heard;  it 
is  full  of  passionate  fervor,  and  is  worthy  of  recognition  among 
musicians. 


SUB-GROUP  G,  FLAGEOLET  MUSIC. 

Songs  Nos.  91  and  92  are  referred  to  by  Prof.  J.  C.  Fillmore. 
They,  too,  are  the  heralds  of  the  lover  who  seeks  his  mistress. 

INSTRUMENTS. 

The  instruments  used  to  accompany  the  voice  are  the  drum,  the 
rattle  and  the  whistle.  The  drum  is  of  varied  form  and  capacity, 
and  is  played  in  different  ways  according  to  the  character  of  the  song. 

The  small  drum,  about  the  size  of,  and  similar  in  shape  to  the 
tamborine,  is  used  in  Mystery  and  Dream  songs.  It  is  beaten  in 
tremolo  by  the  fingers,  or  a  small  reed.  Its  rhythm  is  marked  at 
the  opening  of  a  phrase,  and  the  rapid  light  touch  like  the  fluttering 
of  the  heart  of  a  frightened  bird,  produces  a  stimulating  effect  up¬ 
on  the  listener.  This  light  drumming  can  be  heard  at  a  long  dis¬ 
tance  in  the  night.  Lying  on  the  ground  in  my  tent,  my  ear  has 
caught  the  weird  throbbing  of  one  of  these  drums  that  some  man 
more  than  a  mile  away  was  playing  as  he  sang  his  song  of  the  Super¬ 
natural.  Listening  to  the  sound  and  knowing  its  potency  with  the 
native  mind,  one  can  apprehend  how  this  rhythm  expresses  the  trep¬ 
idation  of  man  as  he  essays  to  approach  the  Unseen  Powers  that 
he  believes  controls  his  destiny. 

The  large  drums  were  formerly  made  from  the  section  of  a  tree, 
hollowed  out,  over  the  open  end  of  which  a  skin  was  stretched. 
The  drum  was  tuned  by  partly  filling  it  with  water  kept  sweet  by 
charcoal,  the  skin  being  moistened,  strained  and  dried  to  the  desired 
tone.  Drums  of  this  kind  are  now  almost  unknown  ;  a  keg  has  been 
substituted  for  the  hollowed  section  of  a  tree,  and  this  sort  of  drum 
is  used  in  many  of  the  religious  ceremonies.  Large  flat  drums  were 
constructed  by  stretching  a  calf  skin  over  a  hoop  of  Avythes  ;  these 
drums,  supported  by  four  sticks  driven  into  the  ground,  were  beaten 
with  sticks  muffled  with  leather.  Our  ordinary  drum  has  now  sup¬ 
planted  this  particular  native  instrument. 

284 


A  STDDY  OP  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


55 


The  double  beat,  so  peculiar  a  feature  in  many  of  the  songs  here 
presented,  is  played  upon  the  large  drums.  In  the  drum  accompani¬ 
ment  of  the  Hae  thuska  the  accent  is  given  with  great  force  ;  in  the 
Wa-wa?i,  the  accent  is  not  the  less  marked  but  the  stroke  is  not  as 
vehement  as  in  the  former. 

The  Indian  drum  answers  to  the  rhythm  of  the  human  heart-beat 
as  it  responds  to  the  emotion  evoked  by  the  song ;  man’s  ambition  and 
daring  are  aroused,  and  his  social  or  religious  sentiments  are  awa¬ 
kened.  The  variety  of  treatment  and  power  of  expression  of  this 
simple  instrument  as  shown  in  Indian  music  are  worthy  of  particular 
mention. 

Rattles  are  made  of  gourds  filled  with  fine  or  coarse  gravel  or 
pebbles,  according  to  the  tone  required.  A  tremolo  can  be  pro¬ 
duced  by  shaking  them,  or  they  are  played  with  a  strong  stroke  and 
a  rebound.  The  manner  of  playing  them  is  determined  by  the 
character  of  the  song.  The  rattles  are  used  to  accompany  Mystery 
songs,  and  those  of  the  Wa-wan  ceremony,  and  are  associated  with 
the  idea  of  an  appeal  to  the  Supernatural. 

In  presenting  these  Indian  songs  to  her  own  race,  the  writer  is 
conscious  that  they  suffer  in  the  divorcement  from  their  own  pe¬ 
culiar  scene  and  circumstance.  The  music,  to  be  understood  and 
appreciated,  needs  its  original  setting  of  nature’s  colors,  Indian 
life,  and  tribal  ceremonial.  This  setting  is  always  present  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  native  singer  and  his  audience,  it  renders 
an  introduction  to  the  theme  unnecessary,  supplies  the  picture 
which  stands  in  the  place  of  an  elaborated  expression  of  the  thought 
or  feeling  the  song  is  intended  to  convey,  and  obviates  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  any  prelude  or  elaboration  either  of  the  words  or  music.  The 
words  are  always  few,  giving  a  hint  rather  than  a  clearly  defined 
expression  or  narration,  rendering  it  difficult  for  the  unheralded 
melody  to  secure  our  attention  or  rouse  our  sympathy  before  it  has 
finished  its  message  and  passed  into  silence.  It  is  difficult  for  any 
one  born  and  bred  in  our  complicated  social  relations  and  customs 
to  appreciate  the  openness  and  simplicity  of  Indian  life,  and  to 
understand  how  all  are  under  like  conditions.  There  are  no  secrets, 
no  hidden  tragedies,  no  private  sorrows  in  the  tribe ;  everything  is 
known  and  seen  by  everybody.  The  directness,  the  briefness,  the 
lack  of  preparatory  words  or  chords,  and  the  absence  of  subsequent 
unfolding  of  the  ideas  or  feelings,  which  are  so  marked  a  character- 


285 


56 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


istic  of  these  songs,  do  not  take  the  Indian  by  surprise  or  leave  him 
unsatisfied.  These  songs — the  product  of  Indian  tribal  life— sug¬ 
gest  the  question  whether  sustained  thinking,  without  which  there 
can  be  no  full  expression  of  thought  in  literature,  music  or  any 
other  art,  is  possible  in  a  state  of  society  where  labor  is  not  coor¬ 
dinated,  where  each  person,  each  family,  each  gens  must  stand  in¬ 
dividually  against  dread  hunger,  and  mortal  enemies.  The  neces¬ 
sity  of  providing  food  and  clothing  is  upon  every  man  and  woman, 
and  the  mode  of  living  is  such  as  to  preclude  the  accumulation  of 
property  necessary  to  secure  immunity  from  the  pressure  of  daily 
needs,  and  the  consequent  leisure  for  mental  labor  and  its  artistic 
expression.  While  it  is  true  that  evidences  of  sustained  thinking 
are  wanting,  these  Indian  songs  show  nascent  art  both  in  music 
and  poetry.  Moreover  they  reveal  the  fact  that  emotion  in  its  sim¬ 
plest  utterance  weaves  together  words  and  melody  and  is  uncon¬ 
sciously  true  to  the  laws  which  we  have  discovered  to  underlie  and 
govern  our  separated  arts  of  music  and  poetry. 

In  considering  these  groups  of  songs  in  their  relation  to  Indian 
life,  one  is  naturally  led  to  compare  them  with  similar  groups  among 
our  own  people.  Taking  a  broad  outlook  over  the  two,  one  finds 
much  in  common  in  Indian  and  Aryan  songs.  Wherever  one  man 
yearns  toward  the  mysterious  unseen  powers  that  environ  him, 
whenever  he  seeks  expression  of  his  personal  loves,  hopes,  fears 
and  griefs,  his  song  will  answer  in  its  fundamental  directive  emo¬ 
tion  to  that  of  every  other  man ;  this  is  particularly  true  of  our 
folk  music,  which  embraced  in  the  past  the  Mystery  songs,  like 
the  Ragas  which  controlled  the  elements,  and  other  religious  songs 
of  our  ancestors.  When  we  bring  the  Indian  song  side  by  side  with 
our  more  modern  music,  in  which  the  intellect  controls  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  emotion,  marked  differences  are  shown,  but  there  is  a  sym¬ 
pathetic  chord  and  even  some  of  the  fundamental  forms  of  expres¬ 
sion,  as  the  use  of  melody,  harmony  and  rhythm,  the  grouping  of 
measures,  and  the  beating  of  one  rhythm  against  another  are  common 
to  both.  The  divergence  is  upon  the  intellectual  rather  than  the 
emotional  plane.  Our  music  shows  the  influence  of  our  social  con¬ 
ditions,  our  coordinated  society — our  leisure  class,  whether  this  be 
sacerdotal  or  secular,  and  the  added  power  gained  through  written 
music,  wherein  the  eye  has  reenforced  the  ear,  making  the  intellect 
more  potent,  and  developing  a  new  enjoyment  and  a  broader  field 
for  musical  expression. 


286 


A  STUDY  OF  OMAHA  INDIAN  MUSIC. 


57 


The  absence  of  certain  kinds  of  songs  among  the  Indians  stimu¬ 
lates  the  inquiry,  why,  where  so  much  is  common  between  the  races 
these  should  not  be  found,  for  example,  the  Labor  or  Guild  songs, 
such  as  the  old  English  Catch.  These  Catches  originated  in  a  so¬ 
ciety  where  labor  had  become  secularized  both  in  feeling  and  as¬ 
sociation.  With  the  Indian,  labor  was  not  yet  divorced  from  super¬ 
natural  influences,  the  mystery  of  the  fruitfulness  of  nature  still 
surrounded  the  cultivation  of  the  soil ;  he  planted  when  the  keeper 
of  the  Sacred  Tent  from  the  Hunga  gens  distributed  a  few  kernels 
of  corn  with  religious  ceremony.  The  hunter  and  the  trapper 
called  the  game  by  means  of  the  Mystery  song.  In  a  word,  pros¬ 
perity  by  means  of  labor  was  not  recognized  as  in  the  control  of  the 
-laborer,  but  subject  to  favoring  or  disturbing  occult  Powers.  The 
ground  was  still  Mother  Earth,  the  stones,  the  animals,  the  trees 
shared  with  man  a  common  gift  of  life,  and  were  his  friends  or 
foes.  The  Indian  had  not  shaken  himself  free  so  that  he  could 
face  Nature  and  bend  her  to  his  will ;  he  had  not  yet  comprehended 
the  possibility  of  an  intellectual,  independent  and  external  relation 
to  the  natural  world. 

In  this  contribution  to  the  archaeology  of  music  it  can  be  seen 
how  far  a  people  had  advanced  in  the  art  of  musical  expression, 
who  were  living  not  in  a  primitive  condition,  but  were  organized 
in  a  social  state  where  there  was  no  class  distinction  or  coordinated 
labor ;  where  the  food  supply  was  still  dependent  in  a  considerable 
degree  upon  the  hunter ;  where  warfare  was  constant,  and  conducted 
by  private  enterprise  rather  than  directed  by  a  centered  govern¬ 
ment  ;  where  the  language  of  the  people  had  never  been  reduced  to 
writing,  and  where  there  was  no  possible  training  of  the  mind  in 
literature  or  art.  These  songs  therefore  stand  as  a  monument, 
marking  the  limit  which  the  Omaha  Indian’s  environment  placed 
upon  the  development  of  his  mental  life  and  expression. 

The  Omahas  as  a  tribe  have  ceased  to  exist.  The  young  men 
and  woman  are  being  educated  in  English  speech,  and  imbued  with 
English  thought ;  their  directive  emotion  will  hereafter  take  the 
lines  of  our  artistic  forms ;  therefore  there  can  be  no  speculation 
upon  any  future  development  of  Omaha  Indian  music. 


287 


EE  PORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES 
OF  THE  MUSIC. 


BT  JOHN  COMFORT  FILLMORE. 


In  the  spring  of  1888,  Miss  Alice  C.  Fletcher  of  the  Peabody 
Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology  of  Harvard  Uni¬ 
versity  sent  me  an  Indian  song  which  she  had  noted  down  from 
the  singing  of  the  Omahas,  asking  me  some  questions  concerning 
its  scale.  A  correspondence  ensued  wLich  finally  resulted  in  her 
commissioning  me  to  make  a  careful  scientific  study  of  her  collec¬ 
tion  of  Indian  Songs,  several  hundred  in  number.  During  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1891,  she  also  provided  me  opportunities  of 
hearing  many  of  the  songs  performed  by  Indians  and  of  submit¬ 
ting  to  them  my  harmonizations  of  nearly  the  whole  collection  of 
songs. 

My  principal  reliance  in  this  work  was  on  Mr.  Francis  La  Flesche, 
an  Omaha  Indian  in  the  service  of  the  Indian  Bureau  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C.  I  spent  a  week  with  him  in  Washington,  devoting  my 
whole  strength  to  the  study  of  the  songs.  I  afterwards  accompa¬ 
nied  him  to  the  Omaha  Reservation  in  Nebraska  for  another  week 
of  work.  We  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  the  tribe  assembled 
in  camp  for  the  celebration  of  their  tribal  festival.  We  witnessed 
their  dances,  heard  their  songs,  and  their  devotion  and  gratitude  to 
Miss  Fletcher  procured  for  me  the  unprecedented  favor  of  a  special 
performance  of  the  Wa-wan  (Sacred  Calumet)  ceremony.  This 
was  given  at  her  request,  and  on  her  account  only,  she  being  the 
only  white  person  to  whom  such  a  concession  had  ever  before  been 
made. 

A  few  weeks  later  Mr.  La  Flesche  spent  a  week  at  my  home,  at 
which  time  we  gathered  up  the  loose  threads  and  rounded  up  our 

289 


60  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

work  as  far  as  possible.  To  his  unwearied  patience,  intelligence, 
courtesy  and  carefulness  I  owe  much  ;  vastly  more,  indeed,  than  I 
can  give  any  adequate  idea  of  in  any  acknowledgment  I  can  make. 
Without  his  devoted  assistance,  no  thorough  or  complete  investi¬ 
gation  of  the  music  of  his  tribe  would  have  been  possible.  No 
one  else  was  so  thoroughly  competent  in  every  way  to  assist  a  mu¬ 
sician  in  finding  out  what  needed  to  be  known. 

I  also  desire  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  Mr.  George  Miller, 
another  Omaha  whom  I  met  on  the  Reservation,  for  his  patience  in 
repeatedly  singing  for  me  songs  which  Mr.  La  Flesche  did  not  know, 
until  I  had  noted  them  correctly ;  to  Mr.  Noah  La  Flesche  for  a 
similar  service  in  the  music  for  the  Indian  flageolet,  and  to  Pae- 
zhae-hoo  ta,  Doo-ba-mon-ne  and  He-tha-ga-he-gae,  the  three  Indians 
who  conducted  the  Wa-wan  ceremony. 

In  my  investigations  I  have  sought  to  cover  the  following  points  : 

1.  The  scales  on  which  the  Indian  songs  are  built. 

2.  The  harmonies  naturally  implied  in  the  melodies  of  the  songs. 

3.  The  tonality  of  the  songs  as  indicated  by  melody  and  har¬ 
mony  combined. 

4.  Rhythms. 

5.  Phrasing  and  motivization. 

6.  Quality  of  tone  and  correctness  of  intonation. 

7.  The  Indian  flageolet;  its  scale,  fingering  and  capabilities  as 
a  musical  instrument. 

1.  Scales.  My  first  work  on  the  collection  of  songs  turned  over 
to  me  was  to  go  over  them  laboriously,  picking  out  the  tones  of 
which  each  song  was  composed  and  arranging  them  in  scale  order. 
I  found  that  a  great  majority  of  them  were  composed  of  the  tones 
of  the  pentatonic  (five  toned)  major  scale,  familiar  in  old  Scotch, 
Irish,  Chinese  and  other  ancient  music;  i.  e.,  of  the  tones  of  our 
major  scale  with  the  fourth  and  seventh  omitted.  Some  of  them 
employed  the  corresponding  five-toned  minor  scale.  But  a  very 
considerable  number  seemed  capricious,  in  that  they  employed 
either  the  fourth  or  seventh  and  omitted  oue  or  more  of  the  other 
regular  scale  intervals  ;  so  that  there  were  among  them  songs  which 
could  be  reduced  to  major  or  minor  scales  of  four,  five,  six,  seven 
or  eight  tones.  The  minor  scale  appeared  both  in  its  “pure”  and 
“mixed”  form  ;  i.  e.,  with  a  minor  or  major  seventh,  the  latter  being 
our  so-called  “harmonic”  minor  scale.  But  there  remained  some 
very  puzzling  cases  of  songs  whose  tones  could  not  be  reduced 
290 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  61 


to  either  the  major  or  the  minor  scale,  whether  complete  or  incom¬ 
plete,  because  chromatic  tones  were  employed.  Such  were  the 
“Poogethun”  song  (No  8  of  this  collection),  where  the  tones  B 
and  G  #  are  introduced,  the  rest  of  the  song  being  plainly  in  the 
scale  of  F ;  the  “Taking  away  the  Hunga”  (No.  56)  where  A 
is  used,  the  scale  being  G  major,  etc.  If  these  tones  could  have 
been  treated  as  mere  chromatic  bye-tones,  they  would  not  have 
caused  much  difficulty  but  the  A  b  in  No.  56,  at  least,  is  an  impor¬ 
tant  melodic  note  ;  is  principal  and  not  accessory.  So  is  the  C  b  in 
the  song  No.  32.  These  tones  can  easily  be  accounted  for  on  har¬ 
monic  grounds,  but  not  by  a  reference  to  any  known  form  of  scale. 
But  the  Indians  always  sing  in  unison  and  never  employ  harmony. 
However,  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  in  the  next  paragraph  to  offer  con¬ 
siderations  which  may  point  the  way  to  the  solution  of  the  problem. 

2.  Harmony.  Miss  Fletcher  had  informed  me  of  the  curious  fact 
that  although  the  Indians  never  made  any  attempt  at  singing  in 
parts,  whenever  their  songs  were  played  for  them  on  a  piano  or 
organ,  they  were  not  satisfied  without  the  addition  of  chords  to  the 
melodies. 

This  fact  seemed  to  me  significant  and  important.  I  thought  it 
indicated  the  presence  of  a  latent  harmonic  sense  which  might, 
unconsciously  on  their  part,  be  a  determining  factor  in  their  choice 
of  melody  tones.  Accordingly  I  set  myself  to  harmonizing  a  con¬ 
siderable  number  of  songs,  seeking  only  to  employ  the  natural  har¬ 
monies  implied  in  the  melodies.  I  then  sent  those  harmonized 
songs  to  Miss  Fletcher,  requesting  her  to  try  them  on  as  many  In¬ 
dians  as  she  could,  with  a  view  to  discovering  whether  they  found 
my  harmonies  natural  and  satisfactory. 

The  result  of  the  experiment  was  entirely  successful.  Whatever 
chords  were  natural  and  satisfactory  to  me  were  equally  so  to  them, 
from  which  it  seems  proper  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  sense 
of  harmony  is  an  innate  endowment  of  human  nature,  that  it  is 
the  same  for  the  trained  musician  and  for  the  untrained  primitive 
man,  the  difference  being  purely  one  of  development. 

I  have  myself  personally  repeated  this  experiment  many  times 
and  always  with  the  same  result.  And  since  these  melodic  aberra¬ 
tions  to  which  I  have  referred  are  easily  and  naturally  accounted 
for  by  reference  to  their  natural  harmonic  relations,  and  in  no  other 
way ,  I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  melody  is  a  product  of  the 
natural  harmonic  sense  and  that  all  efforts  to  reduce  primitive  mel- 


291 


62  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

odies  to  scales  without  reference  to  the  natural  harmonies  implied 
in  them  must  prove  futile.  I  therefore  spare  myself  the  useless 
labor  of  enumerating  all  the  specific  varieties  of  scale  to  be  found 
in  these  songs,  regarding  it  as  a  wholly  irrelevant  matter. 

The  harmonizations  given  in  the  songs  which  accompany  this  re¬ 
port  have  all  been  submitted  to  Indian  criticism,  some  of  them  many 
times,  and  have  been  found  satisfactory.  I  have  also  experimented 
with  different  harmonies  and  have  invariably  retained  those  which 
the  Indian  ear  preferred. 

These  accepted  harmonizations  give  some  curious  results.  The 
Indian  ear  accepts  not  only  the  major  and  minor  concords,  but  the 
dominant  seventh,  as  shown  in  most  if  not  all  of  the  songs  ;  the 
diminished  seventh,  as  shown  in  the  second  measure  of  No.  63 
(this  chord  was  distinctly  preferred  to  the  dominant  seventh  in 
that  place)  ;  sharp  dissonances  in  the  shape  of  suspensions,  whether 
prepared,  as  in  the  twelfth  measure  of  No.  41,  or  free  (appoggia- 
turas)  as  in  the  first  measure  of  No.  37  and  in  numerous  other 
cases.  These  points  cover  pretty  much  the  whole  ground  of  mod¬ 
ern  harmonic  structure.  In  addition  to  this,  some  of  these  melodies 
as,  for  example,  No.  41,  are  clearly  based  on  harmonic  modulation 
and  some  of  them,  like  No.  56  already  cited,  depend  on  third  or 
sixth  relationships.  The  chord  of  A  b  in  that  song  is  the  chord 
of  the  (major)  under  third  of  C,  in  which  latter  key  the  song  closes, 
although  it  begins  in  G.  This  latter  point,  the  use  of  the  third  and 
sixth  relationships  in  harmony,  is  one  of  the  most  notable  peculiar¬ 
ities  of  the  Modern  Romantic  School. 

Practice  of  this  sort  is  to  be  found  in  Beethoven  and  in  Schubert ; 
more  of  it  in  Schumann  and  in  Chopin ;  most  of  all  in  Liszt  and 
Wagner.  That  some  of  these  primitive  melodies,  created  by  a 
people  who  never  use  harmony  and  who  have  no  musical  theory  of 
any  kind  nor  even  a  musical  notation,  should  be  explicable  by  re¬ 
ferring  them  to  a  latent  perception  of  these  relationships  and  ex¬ 
plicable  in  no  other  way,  is  certainly  a  surprising  fact.  It  would 
seem  to  prove  beyond  question,  if  proof  had  been  needed,  that 
these  relationships  are  primary  and  natural  and  that  modern  com¬ 
posers  in  extending  the  limits  of  the  traditional  harmonic  system 
in  which  the  fifth  relationships  had  reigned  supreme  have  simply 
discovered  and  utilized  new  natural  materials  and  relations. 

It  seems  clear  enough  that,  as  we  might  expect  from  what  we 
now  know,  since  Helmholtz’  epoch-making  work,  of  the  complex 
292 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  63 


nature  of  single  tones,  the  primitive  mind  has,  from  the  very  first 
tone  of  a  song,  a  sort  of  subconscious  perception  of  harmonic  re¬ 
lations  and  that  these  relations  determine,  at  least  in  no  small  de¬ 
gree,  the  melodic  succession  of  tones  in  the  song.  Whether  this 
subconscious  perception  includes  the  undertone  series  as  well  as 
the  overtone  series,  according  to  the  doctrines  of  Dr.  Hugo  Rie- 
mann  and  Prof.  Arthur  von  Oettingen,  I  have  not  been  able  con¬ 
clusively  to  determine.  The  only  fact  which  seems  to  bear  on  this 
question  is  that  primitive  man,  in  common  with  the  trained  musician, 
accepts  the  minor  chord  (so  called)  as  a  satisfactory  concord.  And 
this  chord,  from  the  point  of  view  of  acoustics,  is  certainly  not  a 
concord  in  the  overtone  series  and  is  a  concord  when  referred  to 
the  undertone  series  and  not  otherwise.  But  my  experiments  with 
the  Indians  have  thrown  no  new  light  on  the  problem  of  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  Harmony  to  Acoustics.  It  is  clear  enough  that  Indian 
musical  composition  is  due  to  the  impulse  to  express  emotion  in 
melodic  and  rhythmic  forms  and  that  the  determining  forces  are 
imagination  and  feeling.  Of  course  this  expression  of  feeling  is 
conditioned  on  physical  laws  ;  but  thus  far  I  see  no  reason  to  ex¬ 
pect,  as  I  once  hoped,  that  the  study  of  primitive  music  may  lead 
to  further  discoveries  as  to  how  far-reaching  those  laws  may  be. 
The  fact  maybe  noted,  however,  that  major  keys  and  major  chords 
predominate  in  these  songs,  and  that  the  Indian  ear  prefers  a  ma¬ 
jor  chord,  as  a  rule,  at  the  close  of  a  minor  song.  All  of  which 
suggests  that,  even  if  there  be  a  subconscious  perception  of  the 
undertone  series,  the  overtone  series  predominates  over  it,  in  their 
minds. 

It  is  possible  we  shall  sometime  discover  that  the  tones  we  hear 
are  more  complex  than  even  Helmholtz  knew ;  that  the  undertone 
series  as  well  as  the  overtone  series  is  present  in  every  tone,  and 
that  “major”  and  “minor”  conceptions  are  due  to  the  predomi¬ 
nance  of  one  or  the  other,  much  as  quality  of  tone  ( timbre ,  klang- 
farbe )  is  due  to  the  predominance  of  one  or  another  set  of  overtones. 
But  this  is  yet  to  be  conclusively  proved. 

3.  Tonality.  Before  I  became  convinced  that  a  latent  sense  of 
harmony  in  the  aboriginal  mind  played  an  important  part  in  deter¬ 
mining  these  melodies,  I  had  found  that  the  question  of  their  to¬ 
nality  was  often  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible  to  decide  from  the 
melody  tones  alone.  A  few  illustrations  will  help  to  make  this 
clear.  Song  No.  72  (Wae-wa-chee)  contains  two  sharps  (F  # 

293 


64  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

and  C  #).  Ordinarily,  therefore,  we  should  say  that  its  ke}'' 
note  is  D.  But  note  the  build  of  the  melody.  It  begins  on  C  # 
(third  space  of  treble  staff)  ends  on  the  A  below  the  treble  staff 
and  omits  the  tone  G.  If  it  be  in  the  key  of  D,  not  only  is  the 
fourth  of  the  scale  omitted,  but  the  song  begins  on  the  leading 
tone  (seventh)  of  the  scale  and  goes  downward  until  it  finally 
ends  on  the  Dominant  (fifth).  The  trained  musical  ear,  at  least, 
cannot  but  feel  that  this  is  a  somewhat  unnatural  beginning.  But 
if  it  be  assumed  that  the  missing  scale  tone  is  not  G  but  G4t,  the 
case  presents  no  further  difficulty.  It  is  natural  enough  for  a  mel¬ 
ody  to  begin  on  the  third  of  the  scale  and  go  down.  What  is  more, 
if  we  think  the  song  as  beginning,  in  the  ke}?  of  A,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  harmonizing  it  easily  and  naturally.  Whereas  the 
first  part  of  it  can  hardly  be  harmonized  in  the  key  of  D  otherwise 
than  awkwardly  and  unsatisfactorily,  the  latter  part  can  be  har¬ 
monized  as  well  in  D  as  in  A,  and  the  Indian  ear  prefers  the  end¬ 
ing  in  D.  One  would  decide  the  tonality  then,  not  alone  from  the 
tones  actually  employed  in  the  song,  but  from  considering  what 
tone  or  tones  needed  to  be  supplied  in  order  to  make  a  natural  and 
satisfactory  harmony.  Thus-,  the  question  “What  scale  has  this 
song?”  simply  resolves  itself  into  the  question  of  harmony.  If  we 
can  decide  on  the  Tonic  chord,  the  scale  will  settle  itself.  And 
the  question  of  the  Tonic  chord  depends  mainly  on  the  harmonic 
implications  of  the  melody.  Scale,  I  have  come  to  think,  is  an 
entirely  subordinate  matter. 

Take  No.  67  for  further  example.  It  is  in  the  key  of  A,  beyond 
doubt ;  yet  the  leading  tone  (G#)  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  it,  and 
must  be  supplied  in  the  harmony. 

So  I  regard  No.  17  as  in  the  key  of  A,  although  it  contains  neither 
the  seventh  nor  the  fourth  of  the  scale  of  A.  And  No.  19  is  in 
the  key  of  D,  although  both  C #  and  G  are  missing.  These  last 
two  furnish  admirable  examples  of  pentatonic  scales.  It  is  curi¬ 
ous,  by  the  way,  to  see  how  many  of  these  songs  begin  and  end 
on  the  fifth  of  the  scale,  as  does  No.  17.  And  many  others  end  on 
the  fifth  (among  them  No.  72,  if  we  end  it  in  D,  as  the  Indian  ear 
prefers  it),  although  they  begin  on  some  other  interval,  perhaps 
the  tonic,  as  does  No.  19.  This  brings  the  tonic  chord,  at  the  close, 
into  its  natural  position  when  made  up  of  three  tones  only,  with 
none  of  them  doubled.  Whether  this  peculiar  ending  is  due  to  a 
dim  consciousness  in  the  Indian  mind  of  this  natural  position  of 


294 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OE  THE  MUSIC.  65 

the  tonic  chord,  it  is  impossible,  of  coarse,  to  say  with  the  full  as¬ 
surance  of  certainty.  But  it  is  certain  that  the  .  songs  thus  har¬ 
monized  satisfy  the  Indian  ear  equally  with  that  of  the  trained 
musician.  Can  this  be  accounted  for  otherwise  than  on  the  ground 
of  a  common  perception?  I  think  not.  The  difference,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  is  one  purely  of  degree,  due  to  training  in  the  one  case,  and 
lack  of  it  in  the  other. 

The  examples  I  have  cited  might  be  numerously  multiplied  if 
necessary.  But  they  serve  to  illustrate  the  point  that  the  question 
of  tonality  in  these  songs  is  a  question  to  be  settled  by  the  help  of 
harmonic  considerations  and  not  otherwise.  Any  reader  who  is 
interested  will  study  the  songs  for  himself.  For  others  there  is  no 
need  to  multiply  illustrations. 

But  the  case  becomes  stronger  when  we  come  to  take  into  ac¬ 
count  the  melodies  which  more  or  less  plainly  imply  modulation. 
Of  these,  the  beautiful  choral  No.  41  is  the  most  conspicuous  ex¬ 
ample.  The  song  begins  in  the  key  of  1  b.  There  is  not  a  single 
tone  in  the  melody,  except  the  E  in  the  last  measure  but  one, 
which  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  scale  of  Bb-  Yet  the  course  of 
the  melody  is  such  as  to  force  on  one  the  sense  of  a  change  of  key. 
It  is  quite  impossible  to  harmonize  it  satisfactorily  without  modu¬ 
lating,  especially  considering  the  form  of  the  ending.  The  harmony 
I  have  given  to  it  seems  to  me  to  be  naturally  implied  in  the  mel¬ 
ody  and  satisfactory.  I  tried  numerous  experiments  on  Mr.  La 
Flesche  with  the  harmony  of  this  song,  beginning  with  the  sixth 
measure.  His  comments  would  run  about  thus :  “This  sounds 
right  to  me  up  to  that  point;  the  next  part  is  weak;  now  it  is  bet¬ 
ter, — but  it  isn’t  right  yet;  now  it  is  right.”  The  latter  comment 
was  made  when  I  played  the  harmony  as  here  given.  I  also  tried 
it  on  Reservation  Indians  afterwards  with  the  same  result,  so  that 
I  feel  justified  in  holding  this  harmony  to  be  entirely  natural. 

In  this  song  the  original  key  is  kept  until  the  fifth  measure,  in 
which  the  first  clause  ends  with  the  relative  minor  chord.  The 
next  phrase  of  three  measures  is  in  the  key  of  Eb  (sub-dominant), 
the  third  measure  effecting  a  transition  to  the  key  of  F  by  means 
of  the  chord  of  Gr  (over-third  of  Eb),  followed  naturally  by  the 
chord  of  C  (dominant  in  F).  The  last  clause  begins  in  F,  modu¬ 
lates  to  C,  in  the  second  measure  and  closes  the  period  in  that  key. 
This  key,  the  major  over-second  of  Bb,  the  original  key-note, 
would  seem  to  be  so  remote  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  preserve 
p.  m.  papers.  I  20  295 


66  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

unity  within  the  limits  of  a  short  twelve-measure  period.  But 
the  melodic  flow  is  so  smooth  and  the  harmonic  connections  so 
natural  that  I,  at  least,  do  not  get  from  it  the  impression  of  any¬ 
thing  forced,  harsh  or  unpleasant,  nor,  do  I  feel  the  need  of  a  return 
to  the  original  tonic.  The  whole  choral  impresses  me  with  its 
beauty,  nobility  and  dignity.  Indeed,  I  know  not  where  to  look 
for  a  finer  musical  expression  of  noble,  dignified  religious  feeling 
within  the  limits  of  the  choral. 

In  No.  45  the  principal  key  is  Afc>,  but  I  found  it  impossible 
to  harmonize  it  satisfactorily  without  introducing  the  key  of  the 
relative  minor  and  of  the  dominant.  It  closes  in  the  relative  minor ; 
but  the  Indians  prefer  the  major  chord  for  the  final,  and  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  form  of  plagal  cadence  here  given  is  very  beau¬ 
tiful. 

No.  56  seems  to  be  an  example  of  change  of  key  within  very 
narrow  limits.  The  first  two  phrases,  comprising  only  three  meas¬ 
ures,  would  seem  to  be  clearly  in  the  key  of  G,  while  the  remain¬ 
ing  two  phrases,  of  two  measures  each,  seem  to  be  in  the  key  of 
C,  with  a  modification  of  the  plagal  close,  the  major  chord  of  the 
under-fluid  being  used  in  place  of  the  sub-dominant. 

The  Otoe  song,  No.  47,  may  well  close  our  list  of  citations  on 
this  subject.  In  it,  we  find,  at  least  according  to  current  methods 
of  reckoning  modulation,  the  three  keys  of  E  minor,  B  minor,  and 
D  major,  the  predominant  tonality  being  that  of  B  minor.  The 
ending  with  the  dominant  chord  gives  a  peculiar  feeling  of  incom¬ 
pleteness  ;  a  feeling  caused  also  by  the  endings  of  some  of  the  other 
songs,  notably  No.  32,  which  ends  with  the  supertonic  chord.  This 
last  song  is  also  notable  for  its  employment  of  the  minor  chord  of 
the  sub-dominant,  thus  making  it  a  “mixed  major”  key,  as  Dr. 
Moritz  Hauptmann  aptly  named  this  kind  of  tonality. 

These  unusual  endings  remind  one  of  Schumann  ;  I  recall  par¬ 
ticularly  No.  4  of  the  “Kreisleriana,”  which  ends  with  the  chord 
of  D  major  (over-third),  the  key  of  the  piece  being  Bb-  Such 
endings  doubtless  serve  the  requirements  of  emotional  expression 
and  thus  used,  are,  of  course,  legitimate.  No  musician,  civilized 
or  uncivilized,  is  under  obligation  to  cut  his  feelings  to  fit  the  the¬ 
oretical  requirements  of  cadence.  He  has  a  right  to  express  his 
feeling  just  as  it  is  ; — if  he  can. 

4.  Rhythms.  One  of  the  most  noticeable  rhythmic  peculiarities 
of  these  songs  is  the  grouping  of  pulses  into  measures  of  different 
296 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  67 

lengths.  Some  of  them  group  their  pulses  in  twos  or  in  threes 
throughout.  But  many  of  them  have  groups  of  an  unequal  num¬ 
ber  of  beats.  Such  are  the  beautiful  Mekasee  song,  No.  59  (twos 
and  threes) ,  No.  36,  also  twos  and  threes,  No.  62,  threes  and  fours, 
and  others.  No.  74  changes  its  measures  from  f  to  |,  the  dotted 
quarter  note  in  the  second  part  and  the  quarter  note  in  the  first 
part  each  standing  for  a  drum  beat,  at  the  rate  of  104  to  the  minute. 

This  last  song  serves  also  to  exemplify  the  syncopation  of  which 
these  songs  contain  numerous  examples.  The  song  begins  a  half¬ 
pulse  before  the  drum-beat,  and  the  first  measure  of  five  beats  is 
divided  into  five  twos.  There  is  also  a  syncopation  toward  the 
end  of  the  |  portion.  The  first  measure  is  syncopated,  in  that 
the  drum  beat  comes  on  the  first  note  of  the  second  phrase,  while 
it  comes  on  the  second  note  of  the  first  phrase,  the  second  phrase 
being  melodically  an  exact  repetition  of  the  first.  This  song  I 
found  very  difficult  to  note  down  from  the  singing,  its  rhythm  be¬ 
ing  extremely  complicated. 

One  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  rhythm  is  the  mixture  . 
of  twos  and  threes  in  the  same  measure.  The  Mekasee  song,  No. 
58,  has  two  examples  of  this  in  the  |  rhythm  where  there  are  two 
drum-beats  in  each  measure,  represented  by  dotted  quarters,  while 
the  song  has  three  quarter  notes  in  the  measure.  This  is  the  same 
rhythm  to  be  found  in  the  No.  20  of  the  Mendelssohn  “Song  with¬ 
out  Words,”  in  “Abschied,”  Op.  82,  Schumann  and  elsewhere  in 
the  works  of  the  modern  romantic  composers.  But  the  Omahas 
carry  this  rhythm  to  the  greatest  length  in  the  Haethuska  songs. 
The  Haethuska  dances,  as  I  have  seen  them,  require  the  double¬ 
drum-beat,  a  strong  pulse  followed  by  a  weak  one.  Against  this 
many  of  the  songs  have  three  equal  notes  or  their  value.  The 
drum-beat  being  represented  by  two  eighth  notes,  with  a  strong 
accent  on  the  first,  the  voice  will  sing  against  it  now  an  eighth  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  quarter,  now  a  quarter  followed  by  an  eighth,  now  three 
eighths,  now  a  syncopation,  the  quarter  note  crossing  the  drum¬ 
beat.  Examples  of  all  these  rhythmic  forms  may  be  found  in  the 
Haethuska  Song,  No.  19,  and  most  of  the  other  Haethuska  songs 
exemplify  them  more  or  less.  That  a  primitive  people,  without 
any  musical  notation  and  without  any  theory  of  rhythm,  should 
have  developed  such  complicated  rhythms  seems  to  me  very  sur¬ 
prising.  I  know  of  no  greater  rhythmic  difficulties  anywhere  in 
our  modern  music  than  these  Omahas  have  completely  at  command 

297 


68  REPORT  ON  TITE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OE  THE  MUSIC. 

in  their  every-day  music.  It  seems  to  be  as  natural  and  easy  for 
them  to  beat  two  and  sing  three,  and  that  too  in  all  sorts  of  syn¬ 
copation  and  complex  combinations  as  though  they  had  received 
the  most  thorough  rhythmical  training  to  be  had  in  any7  conservatory7 
in  the  world.  Indeed,  I  suspect  that  a  great  majority  of  conserva¬ 
tory  students  the  world  over  might  have  a  good  deal  of  difficulty 
in  learning  to  do  what  is  to  the  Indians  an  every-day  matter.  And 
if  white  students  of  music  had  to  pass  an  examination  in  taking 
down  Indian  rhythms  from  hearing  them,  I  fear  a  good  many 
would  come  to  grief.  Rhythm  is  by7  far  the  most  elaborately  devel¬ 
oped  element  of  the  Indian  music,  and  in  this  respect  civilized  mu¬ 
sic  has  not  surpassed  it,  at  least  in  the  point  of  combining  dissim¬ 
ilar  rhythms. 

5.  Phrasing  and  Motivization.  That  larger  phase  of  rhythm 
which  is  called  phrasing ,  the  grouping  of  measures  into  phrases 
and  clauses  and  the  correlating  them  into  periods,  is  represented 
in  these  songs  in  quite  as  rich  variety  as  is  that  grouping  of  pulses 
which  we  call  measures.  We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  nor¬ 
mal  phrase  as  a  group  of  two  measures,  less  frequently  of  three,  but 
these  songs  afford  numerous  examples  not  only  of  two-  and  three- 
measure  phrases  but  also  of  four-measure,  five  measure  and  even 
larger  phrases.  In  No.  19,  already  cited,  the  first  three  phrases 
have  four  measures  each,  the  fourth  has  seven  ;  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  phrases  have  four  measures  each  and  the  eighth  six. 

No.  17  consists  of  two  periods.  The  first  consists  of  two  five- 
measure  phrases  and  one  nine-measure  phrase,  unless  one  chooses 
to  divide  the  latter  into  a  five  and  a  four.  (The  odd  measure  at  the 
end  is  a  mere  breathing  space;  as  also  in  No.  19.)  The  second 
period  has  a  five-  and  an  eight-measure  phrase,  or  two  fives  and  a 
three.  The  former  division  is  perhaps  more  natural  with  the  har¬ 
mony  I  have  given  it,  the  final  measures  seeming  to  be  an  integral 
portion  of  the  long  phrase  rather  than  a  separate  short  one. 

These  two  examples  are  sufficient  to  show  the  richness  and  vari¬ 
ety  of  the  grouping  in  phrases  and  the  correlation  of  phrases  in 
larger  forms  which  characterize  the  Omaha  songs.  No  one  with 
the  songs  before  him  needs  more,  to  call  his  attention  to  the  point. 

As  regards  “motivization,”  the  building  up  of  a  melody  out  of 
modified  repetitions  of  a  short  melodic  phrase  which  serves  as  a 
model  (technically7  a  “motive”),  Nature  seems  to  have  taught 
these  people  precisely  what  our  professors  of  composition  teach 
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REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  69 


their  pupils,  and  with  marked  success.  Not  only  the  two  songs 
I  have  just  cited  as  examples  in  phrasing,  but  almost  every  song 
in  the  collection,  employs  its  first  motive  as  a  model  and  thus  se¬ 
cures  the  prime  quality  unity.  They  all  repeat  the  motive  in  mod¬ 
ified  forms  and  thus  obtain  variety,  without  which  Unity  becomes 
mere  monotonous  uniformity.  They  all  correlate  their  phrases 
into  clauses ;  their  clauses  into  periods  and  the  larger  ones  their 
periods  into  two-period  “Primary  Forms”  with  a  symmetry  which 
is  entirely  satisfactory. 

As  for  Contrast  and  Climax,  the  remaining  two  essentials  of  any 
great  Art  work,  the  dimensions  of  the  songs  are  too  small  to  ad¬ 
mit  of  the  former,  except  as  it  is  included  in  the  variety  of  the 
treatment  of  the  motive  and  of  the  rhythm  ;  and  there  seems  to  be, 
in  most  cases  at  least,  a  real  culmination  of  interest  and  of  effect, 
notwithstanding  the  curious  fact  that  the  melodies  almost  invari¬ 
ably  descend  in  pitch,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  each  period. 

That  is  to  say,  the  fundamental  requirements  of  a  work  of  art 
are  founded  in  the  nature  of  things  and  of  the  human  mind  and  are 
obeyed  as  unerringly  by  these  untaught  primitive  men  in  their  ef¬ 
forts  to  express  emotion  in  terms  of  the  beautiful  as  by  the  best 
of  trained  composers.  The  difference  seems  to  be  one  of  develop¬ 
ment  merely.  The  Indians  produce  no  long,  elaborate  musical 
forms  because  they  have  not  acquired  the  power  of  sustained 
musical  thinking.  But  their  spontaneous  expressions  of  feeling 
in  tones  are,  within  their  limits,  artistic. 

6.  Quality  of  Tone  and  Correctness  of  Intonation  in  Indian  Sing¬ 
ing.  That  many  of  the  melodies  in  the  collection  accompanying  this 
report  are  beautiful,  I  think  no  one  will  deny.  But  I  think  also 
that  the  general  impression  of  those  who  have  happened  to  hear 
Indians  sing  is  that  their  songs,  as  given  by  themselves,  are  not 
beautiful  ;  and  I  shall  be  obliged  to  admit  that,  in  certain  im¬ 
portant  respects,  my  own  impressions  confirm  those  of  other  ob¬ 
servers. 

Of  sensuous  beauty  of  tone  I  have  heard  comparatively  little  in 
Indian  voices.  Nor  do  I  see  how  it  could  possibly  be  attained 
under  the  ordinary  conditions  of  Indian  singing.  Take  the  Wae- 
wachee  or  the  Haethuska  dances  for  example.  A  half  dozen  or 
more  men  sit  in  the  open  air  round  a  large  drum,  beating  it  with 
their  utmost  force  and  shouting  out  war  or  victory  songs  at  the  top 
of  their  voices.  In  the  Waewachee  songs  the  women  add  their 


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70  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

shrill  voices  at  their  very  loudest  and  both  men  and  women  begin 
at  the  highest  pitch  they  can  reach.  There  is  a  continual  inter¬ 
jection  of  war-whoops  from  the  men,  and  of  shrill  cries  in  imitation 
of  the  bird-hawk  from  women  both  among  the  dancers  and  outside 
of  the  circle.  In  the  Ilaethuska  dances  the  men  have  strings  of 
sleigh-bells  on  their  legs.  All  of  these  noises  are  symbolic  and 
deeply  significant  to  the  Indian,  but  of  course  serve  only  to  con¬ 
fuse,  if  not  to  repel,  the  musical  sense  of  the  casual  white  visitor. 
There  is  more  or  less  noise  and  confusion  In  the  camp.  The  wind 
perhaps  blows  hard ;  it  generally  does  on  these  rolling  prairies. 
Often  another  company  is  singing,  dancing  and  drumming  at  no 
great  distance.  The  songs  are  the  expression  of  excited  feeling 
and  the  singers  are  stirred  up  almost  to  frenzy.  Under  such  con¬ 
ditions  the  production  of  a  beautiful  quality  of  vocal  tone  is  physi¬ 
cally  and  morally  impossible.  The  most  beautiful  natural  voices 
would  soon  be  rendered  shrill  and  harsh  by  such  unrestrained 
shouting  and  screeching  out  of  doors  in  damp  or  windy  weather. 
Any  one  who  desired  to  cultivate  a  beautiful  quality  of  voice  would 
find  it  impossible  for  his  ear  to  make  nice  discriminations  in  tone 
quality  amidst  such  a  hubbub.  Indeed,  nobody  seems  to  think  of 
paying  any  attention  to  such  considerations  and  the  very  idea  of 
vocal  cultivation  is,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  foreign  to  the  Indian 
mind.  The  qualities  which  they  esteem  in  a  singer’s  voice  are  power 
and  penetrating  quality.  I  have  heard  strong,  manly  voiced  among 
them,  and  in  the  Wawan  (Calumet)  songs,  these  come  out  well, 
lacking  much  of  the  shrillness  and  screechy  quality  I  heard  in  the 
war-songs  and  scalp-songs.  But  even  here,  the  men  sang  forte  and 
fortissimo  for  hours  together,  out  of  doors,  in  the  face  of  a  strong 
southeast  wind,  with  an  accompaniment  of  big  drum  and  rattles. 
What  chorus  is  there  in  the  world  which  could  endure  such  a  test, 
and  acquire  or  preserve  a  beautiful  quality  of  tone,  under  such 
conditions  ?  Or  how  could  beauty  of  tone  even  be  thought  of  ? 

The  same  conditions  which  prevent  the  development  of  beauty 
of  vocal  tone  prevent  also  any  nice  discrimination  as  regards  pitch. 
There  is  in  the  Indian  singing  a  good  deal  of  inaccuracy  of  inton¬ 
ation  ;  much  less,  however,  it  seems  to  me,  than  might  reasonably 
be  expected.  I  have  known  many  eminent  singers  (soloists)  to 
sharp  or  flat  a  good  deal  under  unfavorable  circumstances ;  some 
otherwise  good  singers  do  one  or  the  other  habitually ;  and  the  best 
choruses  sometimes  fall  in  pitch  a  full  half-tone  during  the  per- 
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REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 


71 


formance  of  a  single  song  no  longer  than  some  of  these  Indian 
songs.  I  do  not  think  these  Omahas  often  varied  more  than  half 
as  much  as  that  from  the  true  pitch  in  most  instances  when  I  heard 
them,  except  when  they  rose  to  what  was  meant  for  an  octave  at 
the  beginning  of  the  second  part  of  a  song.  Then  they  often  fell 
short  a  semitone.  This  is  saying  a  good  deal  when  we  take  into 
account  that  the  drumming  and  other  noise  made  so  much  confus¬ 
ion  that  it  sometimes  required  very  sharp  listening  on  my  part  to 
recognize  a  song  with  which  I  was  already  perfectly  familiar.  I 
do  not  wonder  that  superficial  observers  find  no  melody  and  no 
beauty  in  Indian  singing.  The  melody  is  covered  up  and  hidden 
by  overpowering  noise.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  extract  the  real 
kernel  from  the  rough  husk  which  surrounds  it,  and  those  who  go 
to  hear  Indian  music  out  of  mere  curiosity  with  no  desire  to  pen¬ 
etrate  to  the  core  of  it  may  very  well  find  their  surface  impressions 
unfavorable.  They  are  looking  for  what  is  not  there  ;  and  what 
is  there  of  real  merit  is  not  to  be  found  without  seeking. 

But  there  is  another  reason  why  casual  hearers  of  Indian  music 
find  nothing  in  it,  and  that  is  that  they  have  not  the  faintest  idea 
of  the  meaning  and  spirit  of  it.  To  them  it  is  mere  barbaric  noise  ; 
“all  sound  and  fury,  signifying  nothing.”  But  the  truth  is  that, 
to  the  Indian,  many  of  these  songs  are  the  fervid  expression  of 
his  most  sacred  beliefs  and  experiences.  The  Wawan  ceremony 
is  profoundly  religious,  its  symbols  are  treated  with  as  great  rever¬ 
ence  as  any  priest  treats  the  crucifix  or  the  Sacred  Host ;  all  phases 
of  religious  emotion  are  embodied  in  its  songs.  He  who  knows, 
feels  and  appreciates  this,  who  penetrates  so  far  into  the  Indian 
feeling  as  to  be  partly  oblivious  of  non-essential  accessories,  can 
begin  to  appreciate  the  feeling  Miss  Fletcher  expressed  to  me  when 
she  told  me  that  she  had  never  been  so  powerfully  impressed  or  so 
profoundly  stirred  by  any  music  as  by  the  Wawan  songs,  except 
by  some  of  the  great  Wagnerian  music  dramas.  This  Indian 
music  is  the  true  and  natural  expression  of  genuine  emotion  ;  much 
of  it  profound,  much  of  it  high  and  ennobling ;  and  the  better  it  is 
known  the  more  this  will  be  seen. 

If  an  appreciative  and  intelligent  listener  like  Miss  Fletcher  can 
speak  with  such  enthusiasm  of  Indian  music,  notwithstanding  the 
deficiencies  of  Indian  performance  on  the  side  of  sensuous  beauty, 
much  more  ought  it  to  make  its  natural  impression  when  given 
with  a  beautiful  quality  of  tone,  whether  by  singers  or  orchestral 

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72  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

instruments  or  by  both  together,  as  I  hope  it  will  be  some  day. 
The  music,  as  such,  doubtless  will  make  its  impression.  Whether 
it  can  arouse  such  enthusiasm  as  Miss  Fletcher’s,  when  taken  out 
of  the  religious  ceremony  to  which  it  belongs,  given  by  people  who 
do  not  sympathize  with  the  feeling  which  gave  it  birth  and  wholly 
separated  from  its  natural  accessories,  remains  to  be  seen.  But 
these  beautiful  chorals  will  certainly  always  remain  the  expression 
of  genuine  religious  feeling  and  I  doubt  not  their  merit  will  be  rec¬ 
ognized. 

7.  The  Indian  Flageolet.  This  instrument  is  made  of  red  cedar, 
ornamented  with  lead  run  into  grooves.  The  specimen  now  in  my 
po-session  is  twenty-four  and  one-half  inches  long.  It  is  bored, 
as  evenly  as  possible  from  the  lower  end  to  a  length  of  about  seven¬ 
teen  and  one  fourth  inches.  The  upper  end  is  bored  down  six  and 
one-half  inches.  Each  opening  contains  a  narrow  slit  close  to  the 
partition  between  the  long  and  short  bores.  The  partition  is  made 
smooth  on  the  top,  a  thin  plate  of  metal  is  laid  over  it,  having  a 
long  opening  and  a  rider  is  tied  down  over  the  plate  so  that  a  thin 
sheet  of  air  is  blown  through  the  narrow  space  between  the  partition 
and  the  plate  into  the  longer  bore,  the  surplus  air  escaping  through 
a  vertical  aperture  in  the  rider.  The  instrument  is  blown  from 
the  end.  Its  construction  is  therefore  substantially  the  same  as  that 
of  a  small  open  organ  pipe ;  for  the  stream  of  air  blown  in  at  the 
upper  end  and  passing  through  the  thin  passage  at  the  upper  side  of 
the  partition  impinges  on  the  sharp  edge  or  “lip”  of  the  metal  plate 
at  the  entrance  of  the  long  bore  and  thus  sets  the  column  of  air  in 
vibration.  The  diameter  of  the  longer  bore  is  about  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  and  that  of  the  short  one  at  the  upper  end  is  less  than  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch.  Inside  it  is  doubtless  larger.  Close  to  the  lower 
end  of  the  flageolet  are  four  small  holes  circularly  arranged,  the  use 
of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  determine,  as  they  are  never  stopped. 
The  holes  iu  actual  use  are  six  in  number.  The  lowest  of  these  holes 
is  five  and  five-eighths  inches  from  the  lower  end  of  the  flageolet  and 
three  and  three-eighths  inches  from  the  circular  row  of  holes  near 
the  lower  end.  The  upper  (sixth)  hole  is  four  and  five-eighths 
inches  from  the  “lip.”  The  six  holes  are  about  equidistant  each 
from  its  neighbors,  the  distance  between  each  two  being  a  scant 
inch. 

No.  91,  a  flageolet  piece  which  I  transcribed  in  Nebraska,  il¬ 
lustrates  somewhat  imperfectly  the  defects  of  this  flageolet  as  regards 
302 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  73 

the  key  relationship  of  tones.  This  piece  seems  to  be  in  the  key  of 
F#  minor,  omitting  G=±.  But  the  fundamental  tone  of  the  flageolet 
is  nearer  F  than  F#.  The  key  relationship  of  the  tones  A,  B,  C#, 
D#  and  Ffr  (fifth  line)  are  tolerably  correct ;  but  the  lower  tone 
being  almost  a  major  third  lower  than  the  A  makes  the  piece  sound 
very  badly  out  of  tune.  The  upper  F,  meant  for  the  octave  of  the 
fundamental,  is  about  a  quarter  of  atone  sharp.  The  fundamental 
is,  of  course;  produced  by  closing  all  the  six  holes  with  the  fingers. 
The  upper  F  the  Indians  produce  by  opening  all  the  holes  except 
the  lower  one.  The  true  octave  of  the  fundamental,  or  nearly  so, 
may  be  obtained  by  opening  the  fifth  hole  only  and  blowing  with 
considerable  pressure.  But  this  I  have  not  seen  Indians  do.  Blow¬ 
ing  with  less  pressure  produces  the  over-fifth  of  the  fundamental. 
The  upper  F#  is  produced  by  opening  the  sixth  hole  only  and  in¬ 
creasing  the  wind-pressure.  A  true  minor  third  (Ah)  to  the  fun¬ 
damental,  or  nearly  so,  is  produced  by  opening  the  first  hole.  Open¬ 
ing  the  first  and  second  holes  produces  Bb  ;  opening  the  first  three 
holes  produces  C,  but  flat.  With  the  first  four  holes  opeu  we  get 
D  ;  with  the  first  five  open,  E ;  with  all  six  open,  F,  but  almost  a 
semi  tone  sharp.  All  these  values  are  approximate  only.  The 
tones  used  in  this  piece  (No.  91)  are  all  produced  with  the  first 
hole  closed,  except  the  upper  F#  which  is  produced  as  above  de¬ 
scribed,  and  excepting,  of  course,  also  the  fundamental.  In  pro¬ 
ducing  the  A,  the  second  hole  only  is  open ;  the  second  and  third 
holes  open  give  B,  the  second,  third  and  fourth  holes  open  give 
C# ;  the  second,  third,  fourth  and  fifth  holes  open  give  D# ;  all  the 
holes  open  except  the  first  give  F,  or  E#.  It  is  the  fundamental 
which  is  most  out  of  tune  with  the  rest.  No.  92  illustrates  the 
same  points. 

I  have  made,  as  yet,  no  attempt  to  determine  accurately  the  pre¬ 
cise  vibration  ratios  of  the  scale  of  this  flageolet.  Such  an  investi¬ 
gation  would  be  interesting,  but  has  little  bearing  on  the  really 
important  relations  of  the  Indian  music,  since  the  imperfections  of 
it  are  plainly  due  to  the  limitations,  not  of  the  Indian’s  musical 
perception,  so  much  as  of  his  scientific  knowledge.  The  flageolet 
is  evidently  built  uby  guess”  and  only  remotely  approximates  the 
Indian  voice  in  accuracy  of  intonation.  The  really  instructive  in¬ 
vestigations  in  their  music  must  be  made,  I  think,  in  their  songs, 
which  are  not  only  the  natural,  free,  spontaneous  expression  of 
their  musical  conceptions,  wholly  unhampered  by  the  defects  of  a 

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74  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

faultily  constructed  instrument,  but  greatly  predominate  in  amount 
over  their  instrumental  music.  We  must  recollect  that  they  have 
no  theory  of  music  whatever,  and  therefore  their  flageolet  expresses 
nothing  but  a  rude  attempt  at  approximating  tone-relations  which 
the  more  flexible  apparatus  of  the  voice  enables  them  to  reach  in 
their  songs. 

Summwy.  The  results  of  the  foregoing  investigation  may  be 
summed  up  thus  :  The  deficiencies  and  defects  of  Indian  music  are, 
first,  lack  of  sensuous  beauty  of  tone  quality;  second,  uncertainty 
of  intonation.  There  is  apt  to  be  more  or  less  wavering  of  pitch 
under  any  circumstances  and  this  defect  is  most  pronounced  in  the 
Indian  flageolet,  which  always  gives  out  its  tones  in  false  key- 
relationship  owing  to  its  faulty  construction.  The  more  it  is  used, 
the  more  it  accustoms  the  ear  to  false  iutonation  and  it  is  therefore 
fortunate  that  this  instrument  is  never  used  to  accompany  Indian 
singing.  The  only  exception  to  this  is  in  the  case  of  some  of  the 
love-songs ;  and  it  is  precisely  in  these  that  the  intonation  in  sing¬ 
ing  is  most  wavering  and  uncertain. 

But  it  seems  clear  that,  notwithstanding  these  defects,  the  sense 
of  key-relationship  and  of  harmonic  relations  as  determining  the 
key -relationship  of  melodic  tones  is  at  least  subconsciously  present 
in  the  Indian  mind.  For  when  the  melodies  are  given  in  correct 
pitch  and  with  natural  harmonies  the  Indians  soon  come,  to  recog¬ 
nize  and  enjoy  them. 

The  merits  of  the  Indian  music  consist,  first,  in  an  elaborate, 
well-developed  rhythm ;  second,  in  fresh,  original,  clear,  character¬ 
istic  expression  of  the  whole  range  of  emotional  experience  of 
primitive  people.  As  such,  this  collection  of  songs  must  necessarily 
prove  of  interest  even  if  they  were  less  beautiful  than  they  are. 
Those  here  given  form  only  a  fraction  of  those  in  Miss  Fletcher’s 
possession ;  and  those  she  has  are  only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
great  number  which  might  be  collected  under  favorable  conditions. 
But  the  older  songs  are  rapidly  passiug  away  under  the  changing 
conditions  of  Indian  life  and  must  be  gathered  soon  if  they  are  not 
to  be  forever  lost.  It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  the  work  of  col¬ 
lecting  and  verifying  them  may  be  pressed  before  it  becomes  too 
late. 

The  problems  presented  in  the  study  of  primitive  music  are  two  : 

1.  The  problem  of  the  origin  and  function  of  music. 

2.  The  problem  of  the  psychological,  physical  and  acoustic 
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REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  75 

laws  in  accordance  with  which  the  musical  phenomena  have  be¬ 
come  what  they  are. 

1.  As  regards  the  first  of  these  problems,  I,  at  least,  can  have 
no  doubt  that  music  takes  its  origin  in  the  impulse  to  express  states 
and  movements  of  the  sensibility.  These  Omaha  songs  mean  feeling 
to  the  Indian,  in  all  cases.  Nine-tenths,  at  least,  of  the  criticism 
I  have  received  from  Indians  in  my  efforts  to  play  these  songs  has 
had  reference  to  emotional  expression  ;  and  there  is  not  a  song  in 
the  collection  which  does  not  express  to  the  Indian  as  well  as  to 
myself  and  other  white  persons  who  have  heard  them,  well  defined 
moods  or  excited  states  of  feeling.  They  had  their  origin  in  feeling 
and  their  function  is  to  express  feeling.  And  this  conclusion  I 
correlate  with  other  similar  facts  into  the  generalized  statement 
that  the  content  of  music  is  emotion.  I  am,  of  course,  aware,  that 
distinguished  critics,  chief  among  whom  are  Dr.  Edward  Hanslick 
and  the  late  Edmund  Gurney,  maintain  the  opposite  opinion.  But 
this  opinion  I  believe  to  be  based  solely  on  a  misapprehension  such 
as  might,  perhaps  be  easily  explained  by  a  proper  definition  and 
analysis  of  emotion,  which  I  have  not  found  in  the  works  of  any 
writer  on  the  aesthetics  of  music.  Even  Dr.  Hanslick,  while  ad¬ 
mitting  that  music  may  express  the  “dynamic  element”  of  feeling, 
fails  to  perceive  that  what  he  calls  the  “dynamic  element,”  identi¬ 
fying  it,  as  he  does,  with  “psychical  motion,”  is  really  emotion 
itself.  And  he  overlooks  also  the  fact  that  states  and  movements 
of  the  sensibility  may  be  expressed  so  as  to  be  recognizable  with¬ 
out  reference  to  the  ideas  involved  in  them. 

It  is  true  enough  that  music  by  itself  does  not  and  cannot  express 
love,  hate,  anger,  jealousy,  revenge,  etc.,  if  we  include  in  these 
terms,  as  we  seem  forced  to  do,  the  conception  of  two  or  more  per¬ 
sons  and  their  relations  to  one  another.  There  is,  of  course,  no 
musical  equivalent  for  a  man  or  woman  or  for  the  relations  between 
the  two  nor  for  two  men  fighting,  etc.  But  these  ideas  are  purely 
of  the  intellect,  not  of  the  sensibility.  The  purely  emotional  ele¬ 
ment  awakened  by  these  ideas,  and  that  alone,  is  expressible  in 
music.  And  emotional  excitement  frequently,  if  not  always,  be¬ 
gets  the  impulse  to  musical  expression.  At  least,  the  impulse  to 
express  states  and  movements  of  the  sensibility  in  song  is  nearly 
or  quite  universal  among  all  the  varieties  of  the  human  race  and  it 
seems  to  me  wholly  unphilosophical  to  deny  that  the  content  of 

305 


76  REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC. 

music  is  that  which  gives  it  its  origin,  which  it  expresses  to  those 
who  produce  it  and  which  it  also  conveys  toother  minds. 

2.  The  second  problem  may  be  succinctly  stated  thus  :  What 
determines  the  particular  form  of  musical  expression  ? 

From  the  psychological  point  of  view  it  may  be  answered  that 
the  content  determines  the  form  ;  i.  e.,  the  feeling  which  the  prim¬ 
itive  man  is  impelled  to  express  in  song  finds  its  own  mode  and 
means  of  expression  spontaneously.  This  Omaha  music  illustrates 
this  admirably;  for  Indian  song  is  an  absolutely  spontaneous  nat¬ 
ural  product. 

But  there  remains  the  further  question  :  What  correlations  of  the 
mind  with  the  auditory  and  vocal  apparatus  and  of  these  with  the 
physical  laws  of  acoustics  determine  the  course  of  melody?  Under 
this  head  numerous  questions  immediately  suggest  themselves  in 
view  of  the  observed  facts.  For  example,  how  does  it  happen 
that,  not  only  among  the  Omaha  and  other  Indians,  but  also  among 
the  Chinese,  the  primitive  Scotch,  Irish,  Negroes,  etc.,  the  impulse 
to  express  emotion  in  song  should  so  frequently  result  in  melodies 
based  on  the  five-toned  scale?  What  facts  and  laws  determine 
the  development  of  this  into  the  full  scale  of  eight  tones  in  common 
use?  What  determines  aberrations  from  this  scale,  such  as  are 
found  in  various  songs  of  this  collection  ?  What  determines  the 
choice  or  the  preponderance  of  major  or  minor?  Is  there  anj'thing 
in  the  facts  of  primitive  music  which  will  help  us  to  determine 
whether  the  minor  chord  is  a  perfect  or  imperfect  concord?  If  the 
former,  does  it  depend  on  some  acoustic  principle  opposed  to  that 
which  generates  the  major  chord,  or  not?  These  are  all  questions 
of  importance  in  the  fundamental  science  of  music,  none  of  which 
can  be  regarded  as  settled  in  any  way  which  commands  universal 
acceptance. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  that  my  experience  during  this  in¬ 
vestigation  has  led  me  to  think  that  the  fundamental  fact  which  is 
to  point  the  way  to  the  solution  of  some,  at  least,  of  these  questions 
is  that  the  harmonic  sense  is  universal.  It  seems  clear  to  me  that 
the  course  of  these  melodies  can  be  accounted  for  in  no  other  way 
than  on  the  assumption  that  the  Indian  possesses  the  same  sense 
of  a  tonic  chord  and  its  attendant  related  harmonies  that  we  do  ; 
although,  of  course,  it  is  latent  and  never  comes  clearly  forward 
into  his  consciousness.  The  five-toned  (major)  scale,  exemplified 
306 


REPORT  ON  THE  STRUCTURAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  MUSIC.  77 


so  numerously  in  this  collection  of  songs,  may  be  regarded  as  a 
tonic  chord  with  two  bye-tones,  one  of  which  belongs  to  the  domi¬ 
nant  and  the  other  to  the  sub-dominant  chord.  At  first,  perhaps, 
there  is -merely  a  feeling  for  the  tonic  chord,  arising  from  the  com¬ 
plex  nature  of  a  single  tone  with  its  consonant  overtones.  The 
two  bye-tones,  are  perhaps,  in  this  stage,  merely  used  to  partially 
fill  up  the  gaps  between  the  tones  of  the  tonic  chord,  which  is  often 
implied  in  the  initial  melody  tone.  The  dim  perception  of  the 
harmonic  relations  of  these  two  tones  would  seem  to  be  a  later  de¬ 
velopment  which  results  in  the  addition  of  the  missing  fourth  and 
seventh  tones  of  the  scale.  How  the  feeling  for  the  tonic  chord  is 
generated  in  melodies  which  do  not  begin  with  the  key-note,  and 
especially  in  those  which  begin  with  a  bye-tone,  as  some  of  these 
songs  do,  I  am,  as  yet,  unable  to  conjecture.  Nor  am  I,  at  present, 
able  to  discuss  the  other  questions  here  raised  more  fully  than  I 
have  already  done.  But  I  hope  further  investigation  may  fully 
disclose  the  natural  laws  which  govern  these  phenomena  and  I  am 
strongly  in  hopes  that  the  suggestions  here  offered  may  prove  fruit¬ 
ful. 


307 


79 


OMAHA  SONGS 


No.  1 .  NA-G’THAE  WA-A/V. 

RALLYING  SONG  IN  FACE  OF  DEATH. 


i 


—/£=3- 


Ah 


m 


yae  -  zhum-mae 

. 


Ah  -  yae  -  zhum  -  mae 


tho. 

/?s 


:£2= 


&2I 


-'PZ= 


I 


80 


No.  2.  WA-OO  WA-A/V. 


V 


81 


No.  3.  HUBAE  WA-A/V. 

Solemnly.  SACRED  POLE  SONG. 

Sostenuto.  J  —  92. 

f- — r 


F 


j^p*N-p*^-r»-«L:pj^=]=p^J,LLjV=|=n 


Con.  Pad. 


I - 

Ae-hae  thae-hae  tha.  Ae -gun  slni-ka  -  tha -ha  nuz-zhin-ga 


ae  -hae 


j±a 


W-- 


*4-  - 


t= 


-•p- 


fc?: 


f 


— r*  — I - — !“ 

TT  —  — 


jq^jj=h| 


tliae-hae  i/ta.Mun-da-lia  ae -ah  ba-dan  ae-ah  ae-hae  thae-hae  tha. 


ESp 


x 


r 


2± 

— Tl - 

f  f- 


mt 


No.  4. 

Solemnly. 

Moderato.  +  —  60. 


HUBAE  WA-A/V. 

SACRED  POLE  SONG. 


- TH-rP===~— r- - ^r-PT-.TT 

IM  i 

Zhe  -  da  ke-thae,  zheda  ke  -  thae  hae  hue.  Zhe  -  da  ke-tha 
Kum  -  peah  ke-thae,  kumpeahke  -  thae  hae  hae  Kum-peah  ke-tlva 

ijt  jt  yk  £  jk.  ^ 


Zhe  -  da  ke  -thae 
Kuril  -  peah  ke  -thae- 


r^T.£ - =* - — L - fcFt? - 2L-t - J 


Co?*  Ped. 

f== 


j  A 


■itl-s  s  -fi  \*  *■  - _ I 


zhe-da  ke  -  thae  hae  hae. 
kum-peah  ke  -  thae  hae  hae 


iS 


Zhe  -  da  ke  -thae  ke-thae 
Kum  -  peah  ke  -thae  ke-thae 


=t^P=£^t==T=£-  ~TT]tttZ 


''Lf  ‘  £  lU  tl u 


e 


i 


J J7! H  .P-^='Le— =Pk-— 8 


hae  hae  -  a, 
hae  hae  -  a, 


-i1  I?-  ^ 

Zhe-da  ke-thae  zhe-da  ke-thae  hae  hae. 

Kum-peah  ke-thae  kum-peah  ke-thae  hae  hae. 


i  i. i.  -i*!  1 1  •ii'M  THii  i  H.  rdqpp  ii 

1  1  ^_i  1  «  *  •  •  1  9  •  m  •  1  j_j  v  0  1  s  * 


82 

No.  5 


HUBAE  WA-AA/. 

HAE-DE-WA-CHE  CALL. 


—  « 


Zha  -  i 
Drum.p  ~ =— 
Trundo.  >'  .~^5*~ 

UllF1 

Ped!~ 


e  -  ba 


r 

ba  /(« 


*  i  5 


-i — s>— 


hse 


PP  PPP 


No.  6.  HUBAE  WA-AA/. 

HAE-DE-WA-CHE  DANCE. 


83 


No.  7.  HUBAE  WA-A/V. 

TENT  OF  WAR  SONG. 


i 


VI — v- 


-d—Y-*-d—Y*—+~ 

T 


>-£»— riJ — -*-4-V 


*—  *  » 


a 


5f^f:  r  r  r  r  r  r  r 

thae  <7ot.  The  -  te  -  ga n  wae  -  tin  kae  g’the  -  hun  ke  num  -  pae- 


r 


84 

No.  8.  POO-G’THUA/  WA-A/V. 


Ta  ae  he  tha  ae  he  thae 


No.  9.  POO-G’THU/V  WA-Afl/. 

84.  Dignified. 


85 


* - ! - L 


=&=} 


^-T 


\-0 - - * - ■*— 


ff  '  1 

Shu  -  pe  -  da  hu 
Con  Fed. 


f 


*  . 


*1  *1 


ah  -  ta  na-zhi n,thae  Shu  -  pe  -  da  hu- 


ffc 


g: 


pc 


=Ht: 


i 


J.:-  .g.; 


;+-+-j£r 


m 


=i= 


t=t 


ah  -  ta  na-zhi n,  thae  ah  ae  thae  tha  ae  thae  hethae. 

In*-.  I  I  I, 


=|: 


i 


-r 


e: 


- ^1- - - ,3*  . - 

7*—^ jfri— tt^- 


Jr  ^ 


Ae  -  hae  Hu-  ah  -  ta  na-zhire  thae  ae  thae  tha  ae  thae  he  thae. 

In*-.-.  In®--  n»-  In®-.  In©-. 

«PTM-— ^  ■  l«"T 


=t 


-»— 


No.  10.  POO-G’THU/V  WA-A/V. 


HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V 


No.  11. 


-=1 

1 

( 

■■■■■■ 

J 

K 

"  — 

1 

L- 

-ar  ~mr  -m-  ~w  r  t  t  T  tt 

thunah-he  -  dae.  Nura-s’tha  thae-tae  he-tha-ke-u a-tae  thunah-he-dae. 


87 


No.  12.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

Religioso.  PRAYER  OF  WARRIORS. 

Double  drumbeat.  =  138.  Song.  _J  #  =  69. 


4 


No.  13. 

Smoothly. 

J  =  66. 


HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

CALL  TO  CEREMONIAL  REPAST. 


I 


E-r~P5 

— — *  *  *  \-rn  -  m  *i-d 


44- 


r 


&*==* 

■H# — !#— 


EE. 


.  >5 


1-* 


0-\a>  im-'tr 


s  s 

Ou-han  thae-tae  ne-daeah  tho, Oa-lian  thae-tae  ne-daeah  tho,  En-da-coo-tha  ne-dae  tho, 
Con  Ped. 


ionPet.r-^rx  n  J2.&.  J7  J7  J3-  Q.  0.  Jv  Q 

^4:4-* — r — r — Fr— r — ff — f=f^ff — 1= — ff=f— I 


5"  5-' 


Repeat  ad  lib. 


=7  7 

=1  =7^: 

0ZJP 

o— -- 

On-hara  thae-tae  ne-daeah  tho,  hae  ae  En-da-coo-tha  ne-dae  tho  hae  tho. 

&&  AS  jSjSA  AS  as 


7- 


i*— 


*  » 


:P=F- 


88 

No.  14.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-AA/. 


SONG  OF  DISMISSAL.  CHORAL  SONG  OF  WARRIORS. 

With  dignity  and  feeling. 

Doable  Drum  beat.  ^  =  116. 

fe  I  ^  I  j  ,  ^  ^  v, 

' - 


■s£*4— I 


m 


if 


F5 


3=£ 


r- 


Hin  -  da  -  koo-tha  na  -  zhira  thae,  II  in-da  -  koo-tha  na  -  zhin  thae  Hi«- 
Con.  Ped. : 


W-W 

E  E 


*  * 


t=t 


& — — 0  ~a 


0  * 


7-^ 


£1 


*  *- 

:t— t 


£=I*=F 


r 


m 


Ek=EEE 


1&=Ed - 1 - ^177  J5: 


rsidTi 


H? 


da  -  koo-tha  na 


zhira  thac,  ae  -  ha 


zhira  he  -  tha-mae  tho 


[  w  a - m-» 

fenE=t=t=t=t 


k-k- 


r 


89 


No.  15.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

Moderate.  Martial. 

Double  beat. 


“  — ■  'iii  r,  m 


P 

Zhin-thae  sha  -  e-ba~da?j,  Zhin-thae  sha  -  e  -  ba-dan,  Nun  -  dae  wae  -  ga 
Con  Fed.  :vV  0 


a-a 


*  -4* 


-» — »- 


4= 


»-  » — » 


t= 


=t=t: 


0 - 0-0 — p  0-0 

-^=t=t=rf 


*  « 


- 3 - & - f^r- 

_ , 

- N-h - — 

— i— - -m - ^w— — 9— 

-— ! — H - ! — “i- 

t  -  '  

thun  -  ga  ta  -  ba  -  dan,  Zhin-thae  sha  -  e  -  ba-da«.  tho  hae 
: -0- 


s=a= 


*  ° — 0-  0 

-I - - 0-0- 


-0 — 0- 


t==±t-r~a— 


-=i-n 


E3fegE3?S 


q=P3=ps*=F^: 

'  a-.-0  £i--0  0  -0 


c 

ga-thun  -  ga  ta  -  ba  -  dan  Zhin-thae  sha-e  -  ba-dan.  tho  hae 

-TL 


tho. 


\& — - 00 0-0- 


m- 


:0-0 — 0-0—0-  _ 
—J — ! — I — f - 0-0 


^*=B=tt=F=a 


-0-0- 


.90 

No.  16.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 


No.  17.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

Martial  feeling. 

Double  Beat.  Drum.  ^  =  160.  Song.  =80. 


91 


I 


J - I-, 


•» — J — 3 — 

—  — ■-*— Fg — j— j- 


/ 


mf\  ■  r  s  r*  r  i 

da  -  dan  nan-tha-pae  he  -  we  -  tlia  -  ga,  Tun-gae-ah  um  -  ba 
«*/*  Sr 

-$-3tr±r 


*=fe=J 


r 


m 


1*3= 


*  » 


!■=*= 
'  -t— 


£ 


If 


=t 


d: 


:=£= 


S 


r  .r  r 

ya  -  dan  he  -  we  -  tha  -  ga. 


hae 


tho-e. 


(P%— »z=y 


i=E=±W=* 

"  ■ 


-m—0- 


if 


1 - h 


=d=t=fc=t 


1  i  I  i  i  i 


t=E 


1*— I*: 


92 


No.  1  8. 


HAE-THUSKA  WA-A/V. 


RESTING  SONG. 


na  un  -  ge  -  ture  ba  -  ga  Tun-gae  Um-ba  thae  -  na  uit  -  ge  -  tun 


93 


No.  19.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

Double  Beat.  Drum.  J*  =  144.  Song.  =  72. 


94 

No.  20.  HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V. 

Martial ,  with  feeling . 

Song.  _J'  =  GO.  Drum  heat.  ^  ==  120. 


S 

« _ « 


^  • 


£iE 

-l-Cl 

-m— 


» . 


T" 

Ho  -e  ya  ae  ho  oh  wae  ho 


«. 


r 


«  — i— 

— • 


2/a 


ae  /to  o/i  v:ae  Ho 


Drum.  m.  js- 

3  3 

Zj _ ; _ 1 


=8: 


*■  "*■ 


Tff 


=1= 


Con  Ped. 

— - --j - - J — 


-  » 


A  •  t 

fl.  47 

1 

«  <p  , 

ya 


ae  ho  oh  wae  Ho 

0  :  — 


1 


*  i 


L  «  - 


i  r  T 

e  ?/a  ae  ho  oh  wae  Ho 


j=E= 


3:3 


» — * 


95 


No.  21 

Wit 

i^5 


With  solemnity. 


HAE-THU-C' 


A  WA-AA/. 


ft± 


P 


M± 


L 


Han  -  thin-  gae  ae  -  ah.  -  ma,  Han  -  thin-  gae  ae  -  ah  ■■  ma,  Han- 
Drum.pp 


4- 


4- 


fM-M- 


F=4=t 


3=E 


-P— ^= 


*  - 


— -*1 — 

=4 

— 

fc£==£== 


Jt=aL 


:=4*= 


*  _, 

t  •  0 


5:: 


*-• - -<  %  : - - 1  - 9 

J0-'  I  I  1*-* 


r  -  ,  . 

thiw  -  gae  ae  -  ah  -  ma,  Wa  -  kaw-da  thiw- gae  ae  -  ah  -  ma,  Haw- 


Hfe 


:S 


»- 


=4= 


=1=4= 


-T1- 


5 


fe4 


q=d= 


m  m -  — c —  0  0 


fcr 


=4=*==t 


=*=E*t=afc=3 


thiw  -  ga. 


wae  -  i7io 


hae 


r 


tlxo-e 


Haw-thiw  -  gae 


"ar  ■*■ 

IN  I 


as 


4-4- 


m~ 


0  0  m 


4==t 


r — 


jZ0. 


:=?s=4= 

0:0: 


*=!*: 


t 


ite 


£:  f •  I  * 

1  '  I  1 

ae  -  ah  -  ma,  Haw  -  thiw-  gae  ae  -  ah  -  ma,  Wa  -  kaw  -  da  tliiw-gae 

:_rq__r  pj~5— rJ=j- 


;=Fp =?=f=pd=3=pd=3”— pd=4=f=1=“= :rJ=^=p-J=J=q 

I^E^Eg=^=feEEgfaEEEEp3==g3E4 

1  i  ^  Tf  -a*-  -a*-  "^r 


#§li 


1 


4^=4= 


» — 0 


=F 


;=t= 


^-: 


3^:  ?•' 


ae  -  ah  -  ma,  Ha  -  thiw  -  ga.  Wae  tho  hae  . 

Z3~ 


$ 

tho. 


3F3F 


«  * 


t=4=4= 


X — -0- 


=^=ra=i4^1 

JL  ~JL - " 


♦  5  ^ 


96 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


AFFINITY  OF  KARANKAWA  WITH  TONKAWE. 

ewe,  ewe-e  !  come  here!  T.  niwe  come  here!  we  ewan  in  that  di¬ 
rection. 

haitnlokn  great  green  turtle;  T.  o^oloko,  o/olakau  oyster ,  mussel , 
shell;  the  second  part  loko  recalls  the  Ivar.  lokn,  haitn  meaning  to 

capture. 

hie-e',  hie-a!  yes!  T.  hehe,  yes. 

kod,  kiidn,  kud  bird ;  T.  kola,  ko-ola  bird. 

^ankeye  to  run,  hasten;  T.  liana,  ^ana,  redupl.  yfiya  to  walk ,  to 
be  going ;  /ayen  going. 

tal,  this,  this  one;  T.  tele,  tel  this,  this  one  and  adv.  here. 
tcha  to  see ,  to  find;  T.  yatcho,  yetchu  to  see,  to  find;  ya- ,  ye-  being 
prefixes. 

wal  large ,  great,  numerous;  T.  kwalo  large. 
wana  to  go,  to  leave ;  T.  wanen  it  is  going  (said  of  a  bullet)  ;  ta- 
usho  wana  shooting  star;  sekieshte  wanen  seven - shooter ;  wan  wa-al 
just  so,  like  this. 

AFFINITY  OF  KARANKAWA  WITH  PAKAWA  DIALECTS. 

(Com.- — Comecrudo;  Cot. — Cotoname;  G. — Garcia), 
aknamus  to  eat;  Cot.  yjxyhme,  kahame  to  eat ;  akwanamie  to  mas¬ 
ticate. 

ba,  ba/  wind  or  it  bloivs ;  Com.  pot  wind,  pepot  bloiving. 
e,  e’h  tooth;  Com.  i,  iy  ;  he-ewu  i  tooth. 
gai  bow;  Com.  ^ai,  kai  wood,  tree,  yai  and  ya\  pataple  boiv. 
ka  to  love,  to  like;  G.  kawa,  redupl.  kakawa  (spelt:  cacagua). 
kanin  teat,  female  breast;  Com.  kenem,  knem  teat  and  female  ani¬ 
mal,  kene  chest  (of  man) . 
kiss  dog ;  Cot.  kissa  fox. 
kod,  kodn,  bird;  Cot.  komiom  bird. 

kom,  kiim,  kwo-om  no!  Com.  kam;  G.  a^am,  ya/am  not. 
kiimna  to  knots ;  Com.  kam  to  know. 

kwannakwan  to  groiv;  Com.  kwaskam  to  grow  (plants)  ;  kwas 
fruit. 

navi,  na-i,  nai  I;  G.  na-  I. 

peka  ichite;  Com.  pok,  piik  (in  pepok,  pepuk,  pe-  being  prefix) 
white. 

pi  a  good;  Com.  pele,  p’le  good. 

sni'n,  a  particle  occurring  in  an  exclamatory  phrase  :  aha'mmish 
160 


THE  KARANKAWA  LANGUAGE. 


97 


sni'n,  q.  v.;  Garcia  has  snon  for  sail  inon  ;  yakal  ajam  snon  ne 
vayas  tu ,  do  not  go,  Manual,  p.  30  ;  yayuna  sno  (I  order)  that  you 
have  to  fast,  ibid. ;  yamestia  sno  (I  order)  that  you  have  to  pray, 

ibid. 

tal  this,  this  one;  G.  ta-  in  tap  a,  taporn  the  one  (who  is)  here. 
upat  long  ago ;  G.  apa  at  that  time. 

There  are  several  other  Karankawa  terms  which  seem  to  be  re¬ 
lated  to  words  of  the  Pakawa  dialects  ;  but  the  affinity  not  being 
certain  and  perhaps  illusory,  I  have  gathered  them  after  the  others 
into  this  appendix : 

ba-ak  house,  lodge;  Com.  wamak  house. 

ahuk  to  kill ;  Cot.  watyuka  to  kill,  cf.  wateyo  he  died. 

glo-essn,  glos’n  boy ;  Cot.  kuwosam  little  boy,  little  girl. 

ira  to  sleep ;  Com.  -em  in  nemet  to  sleep. 

ma  black;  Cot.  bai  black,  dark,  night. 

niktam  boy ;  if  it  means  “  not  yet  adult,”  it  may  be  connected 
with  Cot.  katana  large,  adult,  grown  up. 

kahe,  ka  tobacco ;  Com.  a’h  tobacco ;  or  it  may  be  connected  with 
Com.  yai  wood,  tree,  plant. 

From  the  above  lists  it  appears  that  the  probability  of  a  linguis¬ 
tic  affinity  existing  between  Karankawa  and  the  Pakawa  dialects 
is  rather  strong  and  will  probably  increase  with  further  researches 
made  in  Garcia’s  “  Manual  ”  of  1760  and  in  the  surviving  dialects 
of  Pakawa. 

The  proofs  for  an  affinity  between  Tonkawe  and  Karankawa  are 
rather  scarce,  but  would  by  themselves  become  strong  in  spit*  of 
their  paucity,  if  relationship  could  be  proved  to  exist  between  Ton¬ 
kawe  and  Pakawa  dialects  by  direct  comparisons.  In  this  direc¬ 
tion  I  could  find  only  what  follows  : 

T.  ay,  a'y  water,  liquid;  Com.  Cot.  ay  water,  liquid. 

T.  au,  a-u  deer,  awash  buffalo ,  meat,  flesh;  Com.  ewe,  eu-e  deer, 
and  meat. 

T.  ashui  belly ;  G.  as’hipok  belly. 

T.  kala,  kal  mouth;  Com.  yal  mouth;  cf.  kam  to  eat,  in  T.  yaya. 
T.  ya-  in  ya'slie,  ya/si  leaf,  husk;  sa-yai  arrow;  nenyashan  wood; 
Com.  yai plant,  wood,  tree;  cf.  Kar.  kahe  (this  page). 

T.  ekwan  dog;  Cot.  kowa-u  dog  (see  below). 

T.  -tsay  in  yetsay  chest,  breast;  G.  tzotz  breast. 

Derivatives  of  the  verb  kahawan,  ka-awan  to  make,  produce,  seem 
to  link  together  all  the  languages  just  considered.  I  assumed  that 
p.  m.  papers,  x.  11  161 


No.  24 


HAE-THU-SKA  WA-A/V 


Light  and  spirited. 
^  =  208. 


DANCE  SONG. 


— A-*— 5— *-+-» — o  # — *-4-» — »  -  0 — » — 5— » — #  #  «  #  #  < 

xrtrtTQ  ^  r^~r^T-tr_r-l_r 


N e-ka  we  -  ta  wa-gun  -  tha 
Con  Fed. 

J-  -S'  f_f 


te-bae  -no,  Ne-ka  we-ta  wa-gu?i-tka 


fr.fr.fr 


=ttr^= 


1 — I — t 


Note.  —  Tlie  Indians  usually  sing  the  second  part  of  this  song  in  the  Key  of  G.  But  when  I 
played  it  in  A  flat  for  Mr.  La  Flesche.  he  declared  it  correct,  although  I  had  heard  him  sing  it  in  G. 
This  shows  that  the  interval  aimed  at,  in  going  from  the  first  to  the  second  part,  was  an  octave. 
But  D  was  easier  to  reach  than  the  upper  E  flat,  and  the  Indian  ear  does  not  make  nice  discrim¬ 
inations.— J.  C.  F. 


99 


W - rj — r — *  *  +  z  *-«  S  »  s.  £.3.^++ +  s  1 


gfea 


kae  -  dae,  Ne-ka  we-ta  wa-gim-tha  te-bae-uo,  Ne-ka  we-ta 

-  ^  ~ 

-m — m-r-t - ! - m—  »  » — 0-- 


±r 


tt*-- 


tdSizfcEizkztozEl 


k  %  k-l..te=jg=^i 


No.  25. 


TOKALO  WA-A/V. 


Majestic. 

J .  =  60. 

-£2.. 

<T&-. 

J  I 

<-<s>-* 

if3-'  <■&>■• 

J  J 

|  , 

1^2  •  . 

f^-r- 

.=*  1 

fte-r 

-fenfUr- 

tr?  .=2-- 

- 1 - 

il3  • 

i-^2  • 

4s  : 

//' 

Hae 


ha 


hae 


ha  ah  Hae 


ha 


hae 


ha  ah  ha  ah 


r«s— 


pc 


4©-- 


fcsa 


isr- 


Mill 


4^- 


<JS>- 


l 


Con  Ped.\ 


100 

No.  26.  IA/-OU-TI/W. 

GAME  SONG. 


3 


•  9 — <@  0 


S 


da  -  dare  skha-hae.  Ha 


'  ^  •  o  ^ 

ah  all  ho  -  e  tha  ah  Ha  -  ah  ah  ho  -  e  tha. 


^fe=S=t=  U=^t  *  ■  t 

—  a* — 1» — m— H — I - j»— -»•- 


*  i 


*  *  !  i  t  _  1  S  j  r  %  %...  =  f  | 

- U 


No.  27.  I/V-OU-TI/V. 

GAME  SONG. 


101 


s  s  s 


r 


:=te= q^S=l==S — 

_*  — Srfrfr- 


1=3 


=t=t 


q  ^  5 

m - - 

:=1  =!  Is  „  FI 

■*  . »  —  & 

67  ® 

•  ' — >-HI 

No.  28. 


I/V-OU-TI/V. 

GAME  SONG. 


=  116. 

ta= 


#-3t 


*P - -« — «- 


-*-*--*-  lj  ®® 


nr 


LJ 


i?  ye?  fta-e  ha-etha-e  ya  ha  -  e  ho-etha-e  ya  ha-  e  ho  -  e  tha  -  e 

Con  Pod.  ^  -M- .M. — n a — 4*  ~iq- 

-+1+* -*-<**  -  - 1 - } - 1 - : 


P=P=* 


«n 


W3&' 


^E^EZfK^KZ^==tZ=tzt 


i 


7 — ^ 


^=S3=B 


- «— «— m — -a — - * - 

-m-  H*-  -J-  -9-  -S-  -jS-)#-  -S--S 


n. 


-a-*— (_ i— nq 


tr 


_  t-T  "  "  ~  ~  [_r  C_r 

ya  ha-  e  ho  -e  tha.  E  ya  ha-e  ho  -  e  tha-  e  ya  ha-  e  ho  -e  tha-  e 


J^LTLJ^r 


»=« 


+  &  a 


-J— H - - rn — m—*—r i  5--S  S- 


e^33=S 


H= 


3=C 


*  ^  ^  ^  ^  /y' 

«/a  Tia  -  e  ho  -e  tha-e  ya  ha  -  e  ho  -  e  tha  -  e  ya  ha-  e  ho-  e  ya. 


I 


«=t 


-I — t 


-«—■ «-4» - «-«-» 


"I - 1 


102 

No.  29 


IA/-OU-TI/V. 

GAME  SONG.  SUCCESS. 


J&-\ — rq  - 

=hd~ 

— 4 

- 

:=t=  -^= 

^  1 

-S-  -S-rX 

— #L — -i 

%.  Z-  S-  n 

m 


dan  ansna  zhiw-ga,  hae  thae  Ka-gae  ha  -  ta  -  ah-dan  ansna  zhire-ga,  hae  thae. 

-0-  -0- 

*- - f—  - - *- 


> — K 


* — W- 


» — * — F* 


I 


i — r 


r 


No.  30.  CHILDREN’S  SONG  FOR  “FOLLOW 

MY  LEADER.” 


±2: 

$-8- 


' 


» - Mi 


tF - TTF — W - 1  Wm"p~ 

~W-  u 

i E 

S* - 

Jt- 

-j-j»  0 1  j  ■  i  "  1  f-  i 

1 

t1 

t£= 

] 


No.  31  . 


HAE-KA-NE  DANCE. 

OTOE. 


Repeat  ad  lib. 


: 

4  -1  -! 

, 

£ 

H  d .  d 

1  0 

*  j 

— r 

-  d"  i 

SLZ  •  •  \J9  n  □ 

L 

..  ^ # 

9  • 

.# _  . ..  1 

.Aae  ho  ya  nae  Ha  yo  wa  nae  hae. 

.  > _  >  t  #  ^  . 

5  z  » 

S  i  C5  E  II 

r  r  i-i 

l 

r  1 

K  k 

L 

Lj - l - — J 

JhbmhJ 

b1^  t  IJ 

No.  32.  WA-WA/V  WA-AA/. 


EN  ROUTE. 

Double  beat.  J  =  63.  _ _ 


Ha-wa-thin  ho-wa-nae 

Con  Ped.^_  £  -  j  u 

zzv.-i - cs-tzr - -1 - 5-I#-— 

>.m  -n  i 

r  r  r 

Ha-wa-thm  ho-wa-nae 

^  ^  i*  ^ 

r  4 — f  ^ 

Ha-wa-thm  ho  -wa-nae  Ha- 

^  * — 1"  "4 

4—4  *  k  *  * 

If  t  *  *'  T 

- <9 - “■ 

1 - 

:  -tJt  L-tr 

-  tJ=— i 

-0 - 

105 


No.  35. 


.=  3. 


WA-WA/V  WA-A/V. 

SONG  OF  APPROACH. 


fesa 


?2= 


r 

Thae-nan  ho  -  clan 
Trem. 

s 


Se 


Con  Ped. 


 J~ 

thae-nan  ho  -  clan  thae-nan  ho  -  thae-nan 


=*= 


—  ,~-T~  T~r^  -£-*-r 


No.  36. 


WA-WA/V  WA-A/V 


LAYING  DOWN  PIPES. 


J.  =  80. 

SF  4-4-^-Ff - f— 


*  a 


i — r 


-^=— h  «*  — 


«—■ «-=l— =)- 


Fa  Aae  thae  hae  thu  tha  hae  thu  tha  hae  tha 
Trem. 


ya  hae  t',ae  hae  thu 


^^r2a^tzi) m.z 

Con  Fed.** 


•*  •  * 


«-— 1»  0  P-m-0 


Drum. 


7-3^*- 

g— 

1  1  1- 

L  -  8 

J 

LJ  J 

— i> 

f.  t*  2 

|| 

tha  hae  tha  hae  thu  tha  heah  o  tha  he  thu  tha  he  thu  tha  he  tha 


No.  37.  WA-WA/V  WA-A/V. 


107 


No.  38.  WA-WAN,  WA-AN. 


vf 

-f— J  J-  «i 

J,, 1  J  jz: i  i  i:i 

■fib — 1— 

*  *  ^ 

^  *z-:  z  .—.  - 

T~ 

Heah 

*  +  *  m  -g- 

i  i  T 

o  tha  ae  o  hae  ha 

-Lr 

Heah  o 

»  #  \4  4  4  " 

1  M 

tha  ae  0  hae  Hun  -  ga. 

2$  ^  s 

— S — 

pr~  £; -  p— 

-£- 

32 :zz2 - a|  :i 

J*  ^ 

— »- - 

- U - 

1  -  J  \ 

^  $ 

5? 

— j — S’- - \  .  -cJ - 0- — 1 

108 

No.  39.  WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 


=  (53. 


FINAL  SONG  WHEN  RAISING  THE  PIPES. 


) - 

' - — 


9  ~r. — 


- 


3t^= 


1 - \~ZZZ — I  — 


*-0 


Time  ah  zone  ho  Thaeahwaethaeahicaeha_tha  ae  ha  tha  wae  thawae  ha 
Con  Ted.. 


-2=2— rf=- 


£2= 


«  “ha  -•  |  5: 


4-=4: 


4*  ^ 


2d; 


** 


:«{ 


i=t 


:a=ts=e=& 


tygjt 


.  .  £/>.«  ae.hatha  icae  thawae  ha  thatheah  ae  ha  tlia  wae  thawae  ha  tha 


r-.i— --- 


Szg 


:r 


109 


=)=5£*, 

- 1 - 

— — 

- - *-| — S 

t 

W  4s- 

I-  fip 

-S-  '.22 

1 

ah  -  kae  -  dae  heah  -  oo  tha  ah-wa  -  kae-  dae  heah-£/tae  hae. 


SVl  J 

! 

1  r-4 

J  4-  4 

1  1  I 

EZvE  * 

i 

1 

 *11 

*  *1 

ZJ 

- - m 

m  m  m  m 

.  *  fr? 

-  -4»u  — l-  — j-  —4.  ««L 

5 

% 

:  -g 

. 

*  N.  B.  This  and  the  other  syncopations  in  this  choral  are  struck  by  the  Indians  about  a  quarter 
of  a  tone  above  pitch.  Both  Miss  Fletcher  and  myself  noted  them  down  as  grace-notes  ;  but  they 
never  satisfied  Mr.  La  Flesche.  But  when  I  played  them  as  plain  syncopations  he  at  once  expressed 
the  most  emphatic  approval,  saying  that  now,  at  last,  they  were  correct.  J.  C.  F. 


no 


No.  42. 


WA-WA/V  WA-A/V. 


Flowingly,  with  feeling.  AROUND  THE  LODGE. 
Double  Beat.  ^  —  126. 

J - - 


2-fl  -«|- 


4z4—# 


0 — m  '■  — i- 

00I 


'  *  * 


■anm 


m3  ! 


Kae  -  tha 


yah 


Hun  -  ga 


I  I  I 

Kae-tha  Hun-ga  een-tun  -ee-nae 


g:|Eg  s  *  *  *  s  *  s  s  * 


Con.  Ped 


ya  ah  Hub  -  ga  Kae-tha  Hnn-ga  een-tun-ee-nae  thae  Hun  -  ga. 


-0—0- 


-« — • — a — 0' — 0 

-0 ,  :  :  . . 


-Tn— Q 


MM 


Ipa 


Ill 


$ 


_ _ _  HKAYfc-K  hUK  ULfcAK  W 


S: 


t. 


//  I  i  i 

Kae  -  tha  wae  tha  Huw-ga 
Double  Drum  Beat. 


j— ’ •— 


m 


:gzzq=q= 

m  m  * 


I 

Kae  -  tha  wae  tha  Hun-ga  Kae  -  tha 


m 


Con  Ped. 


4 — t— fc — Ft — t- 

M=p=F==i=t=t=: 

P/d/7 


#  f  t — F^-ft 

:t=^=5=t==!*=!*=:=r=r: 


P  -N— | - 

— 1 — -|  “| 

* 

. . - 

— 

1 

s  =| 

— -J - 

*  «  w 

»  -J 

L. - - 

— 1 - 1— 

L-* - - 

-4s 

L_j - 

wae  tha  Hura-ga  Kae 


J  4 


=t= 


tha  wae  f/ia  Huw-ga  Kae 


tt=F 


t=d= 


tha  wae  tlia 

zz 

I  j» — j»- 


112 


§=^3 


=3= 


-a* — , 


—l — I- 


P 


0  *  r 


§e 


Hum-era 


in 


i  r  ■  r 

Kae  -  e  -  tha  wae  tha  Hun-ga  Kae-e-tha  wae  tha  Ilun-ga. 

'  '  ^n-r — r  ^  -  * 


* 


i —  , - r*-F - - ri 


No.  44. 

With  dignity. 


WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 


PRAYER  FOR  CLEAR  WEATHER. 

Double  Beat.  =  126. 


Sis 


J=M- 


:idts: 


/ 


- m  *■  - 

i  i  * 


Kae-tha  Kae  -  tha  Kae  -  tha  ha 


heah-o  tha  Kae-tha  Kae- 


ggrH^d 


ft«  it*^*  ttrttf  ??  * 


'«  •«  iilgngnjg-— 

t  -r  -r  V  1  *  t  ■*■■*■ 


tha  Aa  j/a  nae  ho  Kae-tha  ah  Kae-tha  o  ha  heah  o  tha 


«=Pg* 

3  4-4  3?3 


1=d; 


riT 


PPPsP 


I Dah  o  tha  ah  Kae-tha  Kae-tha  o  ha 


*-»i— n  rJ5 


--0—S  0  *|-Lnl-_L-_L  _LnnLnnL: 


1 — — 1-0— 0—0 — -t  — I 
q  0,  nl 


Ait  A 


!fc 


ya-nae  ho  Kae-tha  ah  Ivae-tha  o  7ia  heaho  tha  Kae-tha  ah  Hun-ga. 

-n^naj=rz^3=4=3^-J=3T=^q=J=d=^mQ-j3= 


*  * 


■0—0- 


■Zl~t 


-0-  -m-  -m- 


0-0~0  0 


m 


113 


I 


No.  45.  WA-WA/V,  WA-A N. 


115 


No.  47.  WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 


No.  48.  WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 


116 


No.  49. 


Dignified. 


WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 

PAWNEE. 


120. 


r:>  4  4 


4- 


' 


i-4 


- 


— s/’A  s/"A 

#  >  #  y 


(fip. — ^ 

Srgzttrgczf: 
Ccm.  Ped. 


+  »  i^_S  I* 


-#- — «  T  * 


i 


«e= 


s./a  ^/a 


No.  50. 


WA-WA/V,  WA-A/V. 

PAWNEE. 


*»» 


3 

:i  — 


~  g"  i _ 3 


•mm0*  • 


1 


I  I 


u  u 


117 


No.  51.  WA-WA/V  WA-AA/. 

INTRODUCTION  TO  FINAL  DANCE. 


ipf#! 


f= 


Ttit 


I 


-f=- 


Jtzjt 


Ka  -  wae  tha  ka  -  wae  tha  ka  -  wae  tha  ka  -  wae  tlia  kae  ah  wae  tha  kae  ah 
Trem. 


m 


a- 


Efc 


-fS- 


Az 


s: 


-S- 


Ped._ 


& 


fcdS 


.mar- » — 0 


m 


m 


./>*  * 


•  m 


m 


5S 


&ae  tha  ka-wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  kae  ah  wae  tha  kae  ah  kae  tha  ka  wae  tha. 
- &- - - - rS“i - rf^~ - 


w 


S2- 


SS 


-A 


rz- 


?=- 


-S'— 


?2- 


ts?: 


- 

5*** 


&- 


ftS 


-22- 


J1"*  =  160. 


S 


^PM 


:&&± 


* 


-»•— 


l+  0 

i  C’ 

Ka-wae  tha  ka  -  wae  tha  wae 


:*  *  0 


ritard. 


r 


m m 


-■0—m 


ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha 


J 


Con  Ped. 1 
a  tempo. 


£= 


S= 


5K 


23=^ 


- - ^  #  ^ - 1 — -O—0-^-O - 


t=Ht 


wae  &a  wae  iAa  ka  wae  tha  wae  ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  wae  ka  wae 


:;S?stl:»  s!' 


={=§£ 


:£± 


S= 


& 


jai: 


f 

tha  wae  ka  wae  tha  ka  wae  tha  wae 


]  ^  ^  =  192.^  ^  . — 


=4 


ee-the  ka  wae  tha  tha  kae  tha  wae. 


*•:*£  \*  vS' -J;C  *11'  5i- 

— ^ - *£;•— igs-jg - cr.r& 

Drum-beat. 


118 


119 


o  fta  kae  tha  hae 


ho  kae  tha  ho 


-Jr^r^r^gr 

kae  tha  o  ha  kae  tha  hae. 


No.  52. 


WA-AA/  WA-A/V. 


GOING  FOR  THE  HU-iVGA. 


120 


No.  53.  WA-WA/V,  WA-AA/. 


wae-ah  -  nae  Zhin-ga  tlieu  -  we  nae  thae  Hun  -  ga. 


121 


No.  54. 

J*  =  184. 


WA-WA/V,  WA-AA/. 

PAINTING  THE  HUAGA. 


1 


=44=£: 


=t 


L_ _ I  i_) 

Ah  -  tha  -  ha  thae  -  ah  -  thae, 


tt  m  ■  •  & 

» — » — 9- 


:=q=^: 


Ah  -  tha  -  ha  thae  -  ah  -  thae. 


Con  Ped. 


No.  56.  WA-WA/V  WA-AA/. 

—  176.  TAKING  AWAY  THE  HUAGA. 


122 


No.  57.  FUNERAL  SONG. 


ME-KASEE 


123 


No.  58. 


100. 


^9 


T 


Taw  ah  ha  yaw  ah  ha  ah  yaw  ah  ha  ah  yaw  ah  ha  ae  yaw 


IPS: 

■  4- 


£ 


i 


:[z: 


/  i*  K  (m\* 

-  f- 

r-=H - - - 

1 

/ 

i( 

\ 

^  1 

2 q  *2 J J 

L 

i  ‘  ~  i 

"  Z  -*r  ^ 

! 

pa  -  thin  h’te  mum-b’thlw  ah-thiw-hae  hoo  « 

1  1 

&  -  w«e  ?/aw  hae  yaw. 

(mV  n  ^  •  m  • 

I 

1 

1  1  1 

T)  H  f 

J 

i 

i ' 

W'  CJ  r  • 

J  •  .  m  • 

1  1 

Q — 3-r-  P  - ^  -h 

t :  S 

gU-  “ 

124 

No.  59. 


MEKASEE. 


3BES 


Jleah 


yaw 


* 

i 

ha 


^  - 

i - 1 

Lj-*4 

ah  heah  e 


yaw 


ha  ah 


gr-%3=f-=P- 

— 1~ — •  F— 


Con ped. 


£ 


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125 


No.  60. 

MEKASEE. 

Sowgr.  J.  =  104.  Drum-beat.  ^  -=  208. 

H 

rJ  _J*  J  >  J  _  r  J_  J  J  J 

* 

:  t :  - 

I:  S  =1  1 5 :  S: 

U 

T  - 

r  r  t  r  . 

Heah  ha  ah  ha  e  ah  ha  e  yaw  heah  ha  ah  ha  ee  yaio  ee  yaw 
Double  Drum-beat. 


m. 


*.i 


t=t= 


— 1=— t= 


Con  Fed. 


t 


rpr- rr-M — 

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«  -  '  *  * 

xAl  w  w  0  •  & 

0  •  • 

0  •  .  ^  W 

°  i  i  i 

ee  yaw  ha  e  yaw  heah  ha  ah  ha 

“5”  ?  *E -  -E-  -e-  -E- 

r  r  f 

ee  yaw  ee  yaw  ee  yaw  a/ 

r:  4-': 

i  lia  ee  yaw 

JTin  

/iV4+  •  M  ..  L.  1 

zrzzrz  r 

v .  ml  .  r~  .   w  « 

Li  ^ u  u.  -  .  rtr ^   r: n  ^ 

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hae  -  ge  -  mu»  Heah  ha  ah  ha  ee 

%■**■*%■*  '■*■  *-  *-  ■*■  4 

yaw  ee  -  g aw 

*-  3-  * 

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m  “P  EVE  B 

r~ 

n 

z  s 

Ezsitr  e  u  n n  n  nr  c  rr  tr nr  l-  f—  i 

V'  p:  pl  f 

n 

1 - 

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126 


'A  J  Jrn  m 


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J  - J^-J - 1 


:F 


m 


0 


Ah  ha  ah  ha  ee  yaw  ee  yaw  ee  yaio  ah  ha  ee  yaw  ha  he  yaw. 


No.  61.  NA-C’THE  WA-A/V. 

Martial _  7 


127 


128 

No.  62 


129 


I 


f '  a  * 


.0.  -  — >. 

-0-.  -0-  -0-  -m-  -0- 


w 


♦  5:  ♦  5: 

E  -  bae  -  taw  shaeah  he  -  be-  tae  a 

-4 r-J- - -I—, r-T3—. J - 4- 


0-JL 


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buz-zhe  -  tae 

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Nu  -  daw-huw-ga  tae  -  hae  -  tho 

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I 


Nu  -  claw  Iiuw  -  ga  tae  -  hae  -  tho. 


3= 


tzt 


3=5 


zfc 


No.  63a. 


NA-G’THE  WA-AA/. 

(Another  version  by  Mr.  La  Flesche.) 


M-* 

ztMl 


I 


&4&-0- - 0 - 0 - 0— 

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t 

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2  i  0  % 

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E  -  bae  -  tan  thiw  -  gae-tho 
S - f - f  -T  r  S- 


E  -  bae  -  taw  thiw-gae  -  tho 


S7\ 


44=F=I== 


Cow  Fed. 


330 

No.  64. 


WAE-TOA/-WA-A/V. 


With  feeling . 

K 


'G- 


<&-•—- 


-sfs— *- 


«ETtS=S= 


f~ 

■Hw  e  ZAa  ae  he  thae  Hu  e  tha  ae  ha  ae  he  thae  thae 


E%&4: 

.^'4:4. 


-ts- 


I? 


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f=f 


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r 


Tie  Zftae  thae  Nu  -  da  -  hun-ga  ke  wa-shu  -  shae  sna  yae  ae 

a  n*. 


:t=|z: 

-s> — ts- 

:t=h- 


& - FF1— <r- 

■t-— — — — — 1-: 


-»• — « 

=|=F= 


-* - » - 1 


— K-iV 


de  -  he  -  ke  wa  -shu  -  shae 


N  -  -r— 

5 

-br- 

- 1 - 

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(l*~)v*£ 

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Hu  e  tha  ae  he  thae  Hu  e 


*  ’  0 


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r 


8= 


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f=f 


m 


tha  tha 


ha  ae  he 


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^  5 


i/iae  thae 


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7ie  Z/tae  z/tae. 


-  S  g 

:g-  - 

: - h - 3= 

i  ■  ■  ‘ 

•c*-  77- 


131 


No.  65.  WAE-TO/V-WA-A/V. 


Flowingly. 
Otr  tt 

7# Zr  o  ty  < 

H  n 

2 

3I iLZ 

LT   • zJ 

j  j  j  n 

I 

zl   /l  0  LC &   w 

~d  wl 

i  *  »  •  | 

0000 

tr  r 

K 

~  1  r  r 

a-gae  tae  -  he  ha  -  ee  thun  -  zha  ka-gae  tae  -  he  ha  -  ee 

f"  if-  Sr 

tt  O  f 

n  i 

rr  i  i 

iii 

k 

L   -  L 

K-s  it  i  t  r 

km  I— 

m  r- 

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...  . . 

- F - J 

— fl-s-tt - — 

N 

r  m-n 

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r  A - 

fP  -1  H  ' 

r? — s — * - 

l - 1 - 

-4—m - 0 - 

- 1 

-s 

- J - J - 

Lr  i —  F — 

thura  -  zha  Hae  ish  -  ah  -  gae  wa-gan-za  -  be  -  dan  mi 


1 - 1 — “1 

F 

- 1 — — 

-I 

IF 

g 

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hi 

=t 

— ==H 

«J 

tae 

tae 

he 

ha  -  ee 

-S- 

thim 

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V  -k-.. 

ka  -  gae 

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— fS» - 

-£2. 

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- - 1 - - - 

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w- 

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- 1 - 

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-  F 

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— k  = 

— 1 1- 

1- 

L-f— 

— k— 

r— J 

tha  -  thun  -  ga  ta  -  dim  shim  -  tha  -  the  -  shae. 


No.  66.  WAE-TO/V-WA-A/V. 

C* -it  n  I  -  QQ  Tl'y’i / m  N  -  17ft 


J  v  • 

With  feeling. 


No.  67.  WAE-TO/V-WA-A/V. 


133 


No.  68.  PONCA  SONG. 

J  =  100. 


U  .v  o 

P-'P-r 

f® - rf*'  P  r+  J  ^ 

H — h 

rd — |- 

rf'-T 

,  i 

_ *Ll _ 

'  M 

i* 

IfTv  A  -  J 

a  p  p  p  p 

•  -j 

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Lll  c  LT p 

p  * 

p  p 

-  m 

-£2  J 

E 

L f  i 

yah 

? 

i  1  !  1  1 

hae  ah  hae  thae  hae  thae 

5  ^ 

r 

aTi  thae 

*:■*■  f  p 

r 

lae  thae 

a  -  — 

m  m 

\r j  , 

r  r  r  Pi  £ 

4 

l* 

p. 

h-  L 

r  1  I'"  1  1  1  i 

— p 

I 

Con  Fed. 


9-f>— T5-4 

tH - 

— 1  H- 

pd^'i 

1 

1  J 

J 

rs  i  #i  i  ^ 

d  J 

1 

H  1 

|  | 

N*  N* 

^  a  i 

|  C\  | 

x~ 

7  P=  P 

<T2 

P  P 

d   d  r 

p  i 

e  ya/i 

'(Z>  £2  '  fS>  P  P 

1  1  1 
hae  ah  hae  tha  hae  hae  ah  hae  thae  hae 

■*■■»■  »  »  » p  p  p  p_ p  p  p 

# 

tlio-e 

a  m  *> 

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pp:  r 

p 

4=4 

U 

HP - P— 

u 

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■  P  p 

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p — p— 

HP jp — 

i-  - 

HP - P— P - 

1  h  hae  thaehae,ah  hae  thaehae  Ah  hae  that  hae, ah  hae  thaehae  Ah  he  heaehahae 

* - % - ^ - r* - 1 -  * - 4b 


£ 


Ped.  I 


i=: 


4 


r 


WTfT 


135 


No.  71.  WAE  WACHEE. 

Double  beat  ^  =  152. 


a  „ , 

» — *r 

t_r  tr 

9  *  m  ’mm" 

y  lj 

u  cr  1/ 

Yae  ha  hae  ya  ae  hae  tha  yae  ha  hae  ya  ae  hae  tlia  ah  ha  ya  ae  hae  tha 


136 

No.  72.  WAE-WA-CHEE. 

Double  drumbeat.  J ^  =  126. 


S3= 


He  ya  hae  thae  hae  e  ya  hae  he  ya  hae  thae  hae  e  ya  hae 
-0 - ft - ^-l*-l*-( - - -  -  -  -  - 


(7o» 

Ai*  ^ 

t mzi 


:4^=^==:pzip=»=»-»-E^— 


5E 


4  f  "  f  ^ 

he  ya  ha  thae  hae  e  ya 


=t 


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#  -»r  -Jr 


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Ttae  Aae  «/i  ftae  £7iae  /iae  £/io-e  Sha-a?i 


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=t=l=3= 


it: 


|fi 


t  *  i  *4 *“*-  •  -• 

_ — _ — » — m — 


■=t=ltF= 

* 


r  i  r  f  i 

zhin-sra  na  ae  -  ge-zlian-dan  ae  -  ge-ma  tho  aeah-taw  tha-ha  -  gae-ah  hae 


:  ^  0  :  |  i - r— 

t — S  . 

I  i 


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|ffz=|ez|*zz|^Et^fzzttz=fcz^: 


: : : 


- -ad - ^ — 0 — I - 1 - “I - -^.d  —I - 1 - i^H 

-9-  ~m-  ~m-  —  "  -M-  -0-  —  -rt 


ya  hae  thae  hae  e  ya  hae 


— *1  — 0-  000 


hae 


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I 


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0~& 


ah  liae  thae  hae  tho. 


0  0 


J  * 


I 


““  ~0  ST  T  TT  T 

Note.  Mr.  LaFlesche  prefers  this  song  in  the  key  of  C,  with  the  last  four  measures  in  F. 


No. 73. 

Grave,  Solemn. 
TpV 


OMAHA  PRAYER. 


=r- 


!^=N3 


=£ 


S-f’S- 


g= 


-z=t 


=t=t 


I 


TT  TZr 

Wa-kan-da  tliac-thu  wah-pa-thin  ah-tun-hae.  Wk-kan-da  thae-thu  -vvah-pa-thm  ah-tun-hae. 


fc 


=F=F= 


=-& !=l 


— t 


i 


122-1- 


S- 


II 


HORSE  MYSTERY  SONG. 


137 


No.  74. 

.  J=  104. 

Il 


104. 


:4 -frrHjg 


— ~U  — jj£ 


g  I: 


P=P=*=5RpC 


Nun  -gae  sha  -tha  -  ma  Nun  -  gae  sha  -  tha  -  ma  Shon  -  gae  we  -  ta  pa  - 


H-fcr 
^-4-H — 


I 


t= 


:t=: 


1 


i1 


.«♦  /  j  II 


hun  -  ga  thin  ae-ah  -  ma  Nu?i-gaesha  -  tha  mae  tho  hae. 


t:  f: 


£ 


St 


£= - V 


rr\ 

t 


1 


No.  75. 

J  =  69. 


IN-G’THAN  WA-A/V. 


■0-^—m — 0—. — 0 — 0 — m  ^ 


i-* 


r 


— rbr 


E  -  ka  -  gae  dae  e  -  ah-  ma  E  -  ka  -  gae  dae  e  -  ah  -  ma  Ah  hae 

-m-  ■#■  -0-  ■*- 

-0 - 1 - H - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 


:t=: 


r=r 


Con  Ped.  \ 


r~  f  * 


r  ^ 

ae  ta-wan  g’thun  ma  e  -  ah  -  ma  Ah  hae  tho-e. 


i=st 


Wa  -  kan 


T 


*=&e=frc 


f=t 


:j*— Et 


:r=tr 


IN-G’THA/V  WA-A/V 


138 

No.  76. 


-  GO. 


,  &  *  r 


3=e= 


-P2-=- 


<S— 


=£21 


-J— J— *- 


--L-JP  J p 


E  ha  ya  ae  ha  hae  hae 


T - !  - 

E  ha  ya  ae  ha  hae  ha  hae  ah 


& 


ilriiEE 


* 


±P 


- - — 

s>— — 

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i -  4 

1 

Con  Fed. 


n  u  1  v  ,  _  . 

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k.  \ 

^  -00 

zjs  ; 

|S  -1^=^— 1 

ffrP  m  m  J 

-  9  ■»--  9 

0  _  &  hrt  •  a! 

°  r  ‘  fp  ^j*  •  j=2p  ^  • 

hae.  ha  hae  ah  hae  ah  ae  ha  loae  tho  hae  tho-e 

rD-  &  •  .  rzT*  ^0  • 

0,  7  22  • 

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gp  •  f 

-S-2 - 

— 

* - : — 

— 2 — j - 

T  — ’  T 

T^-"  "■■■" - 

No.  77.  IN-G’TH AN  WA-AN. 

J  =  288. 


-A-k  -IS  -1 1  J  J  k — 1  N  , 

~ 1 - , - ]— r — | 

Pi1  r,  *  <r 

-J— d-+ 

=|— 

£  i  1  ■  •  ]  £  • 

4P  . .  • 

0  •  1 

» •  # •  i  •  • 

o  m  .  r  •  m  . 

1  1  1 

Wa  -  kaw-da  e  -  bae  -  tan  tan  -  hae 

m  .  1  0  . 

a  •  »  •  0  •  .0-  •  jg. . 

r  r 

ga  .  .  .  Wa-kan-dae-  bae-tarc 

0  •.  0  •  0  •  - 

r  ar  • 

h  r  -*■. 

1  “ 

I  IT 

| 

L 

lTq  ~ 

L  . 

0  • 

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P  17  M 

»  -r 

F  1 

F IF 

Con  Ped.l 

— i 

(i 

— i 

L 

139 


?:;fc 


•  m — m-.  ■  L-j — L-#- 

f-  *•  *=  f 


=t 


« — •-«■ 


ta?i  -  hae  -  ga  .  .  .  .  Wa  -  kaw-da  e  -  bae  -  tan  tan  -  hae  ga 


1  \' — "  1 

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■  1  ^  1/  |  !   1 

-1 

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^  -f  •  - 

— 1 

-»•  • 

€LJ! 

140 


No.  78. 


BUFFALO  MYSTERY  SONG. 


3-#-—,-^ w — J - 1 — H — F^-r  j- — I - i - 

- sh - 1 - 0—0 - 0—' - — 0—0—0 - 


-0 — 0 


. - P5, 

‘Z--0--0 — a- — -J 


Thae-thu  -  ta n  thae  -  ah-thae,Thae-thu-ta/i  thae-ah  -  thae  Thae-thu-tau  thae-ah-thae  thae-ah 

-I — t- 


•  5 — | — j  p 


Con  Pcd 


T=r? 


=4=*L 


** 


No.  79.  MYSTERY  SONG. 

J  =  100. 


141 


#4 


** 


r 

Du -da 


7  Jz 


4  4 


1 


> —  :4- 


maw-thin  do  /te  i/to 


i/b 


/te  tha  ha 


-M- 


f 


-f= 


1 


Si 


1:1 


-*- 


f  •  _  „ 

u*  ' — 

Ho  he  tha  he  tha 


?  ¥ 


ifo  he  tha  he 


¥ 

i/io. 


@S 


*-*- 


t= 


I  ? 


r4 — 4~n« 


f==t^=?=ta: 


No.  80. 

Slowly. 


SONG  OF  THANKS. 

SOLO.  (No  Accompaniment.) 


-v - 

Ha  ae  tha  hae  ah  hae  thae  hae  we  tha  hae  ah  hae  thae  hae  ae  cihe  hae  thae 


li 


m 


hae  tho 

/?S 


=^-^=4= 3Ff 

■#■  T5*  TT  TT  ■»" 

a/t  /tae  hae  thae  thoe 


(name  of  don  -  or  given.) 


:_=  »*»«;.,,  '* 

tha-un-tha-thae  win-thae-kae  ah  hae  thae  hae  ae  tho  ah  hae  thae  hae  ae  tho  ah  hae  thae  hae  tho 


No.  8  1 


MYTH  SONGS  FOR  CHILDREN 


=  76. 


HOW  THE  RABBIT  LOST  HIS  TAIL. 


ar-ti 


:Fp: 


1=1=15= 


=£= 


Ma-stin-gae  shae  -  tha-  thin-  shae  win  -  jae  -  ga  -  tha  -  thin  -  shae, 


S  =|  - .. 

r-1 — rzz - - - 

Lb  j  j  _i> 

V* 

1  m  p 

_  V  S  ^ 

cJ  J  J 

* 

[Z  ^  —0  -3—0  - 

— P  -P 

-0-  -0. 

-  •>  m  __ 0 

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win  -  jae  -  ga  -  tha  -  thin  -  shae  oh  hae  ya  hae  ya 


s  s~'  ==  '  >~  [| 

m  ■  p  - *-0 — 0 0 — m — 0 - c0 0 0 — 0 — 0~ — '-I 


hae 


ya  -  hae  ya  wa  -  na -hae- tha -ba  wa  -  na -hae- tha  -  ba. 


No.  82.  WA-OO  WA-A/V. 

J  =  ™. _ 


r-0-5  >  0 

n 

i " — "  i 

w%-*- 

-  *  1 

i  ~~  5  % 

s  ;  s=i 

-St — 

— 1 - 

Vi'  4 

f — ^ 

r 

Nu  - 

dan  tha-g’the  -  dan  Ae 

taeun  tha-thae  - 

tliae 

Nu  - 

.  

2  3= 

0  0 

*  • 

t 

fS 

* 

It - =i 

=t - 1= 

r  r 

Con  Pcd. 


143 


51  1 — i 

n #  **  1  *  * 

r?  _ ,  _ , 

-£&  u  L 

j-  jn  -■‘jzzj  ^  1 — *5   m  "3 

(T2  9 

»S  2 

,  m  r*-  9 j  w  1  1  n  j  -1  *i  r: 

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No.  86.  BE  THAE-WA-AA/. 

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No.  89.  BE-THAE  WA-A/V. 

LOVE  SONG. 

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No.  90 


BE-THAE-WA-A/V. 

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FLAGEOLET  PIECE. 


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FLAGEOLET  PIECE. 


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152 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


If  the  question  should  be  asked,  why  in  my  notation  of  the  songs 
here  presented,  I  have  not  attempted  to  express  certain  peculiari¬ 
ties  of  intonation  observable  in  Indian  singing,  I  would  simply 
say,  that,  during  the  earlier  years  of  my  studies,  I  was,  with  other 
observers,  inclined  to  believe  in  the  theory  of  a  musical  scale,  in 
which  the  interval  of  a  tone  was  divided  into  many  parts ;  but,  for 
several  years  now  past,  having  become  more  familiar  with  the  In¬ 
dian’s  mode  of  thought  and  feeling  concerning  music,  and  as  the  re¬ 
sult  of  careful  investigation  of  hundreds  of  songs  which  I  have 
transcribed,  I  have  been  led  to  account  for  his  peculiar  intonations 
in  other  ways  than  in  the  use  of  a  minutely  divided  scale. 

Upon  page  111  have  called  attention  to  the  Indian’s  manage¬ 
ment  of  his  voice,  to  his  lack  of  ear  training  due  to  the  absence  of 
a  standard  pitch,  and  also  to  the  influence  upon  his  voice  of  out-of- 
door  singing.  Professor  Fillmore  on  page  69  has  spoken  more 
fully  upon  this  subject.  I  have  also  mentioned  the  Indian’s  fond¬ 
ness  for  the  effect  produced  by  vibrations  of  his  voice.  He  uses 
various  kinds  of  tremolo  in  his  attempts  at  expression.  For  in¬ 
stance,  a  man,  when  accepting  the  gift  of  a  horse,  will  render  his 
song  of  thanks  as  if  he  were  singing  it  while  riding  the  animal; 
his  notes  will  be  broken  and  jarred  in  pitch,  as  if  by  the  galloping 
of  the  horse.  Or,  as  in  the  Mekasee  songs,  the  warrior  will  so 
manage  his  voice  as  to  convey  the  picture  of  the  wolf  trotting  or 
loping  over  the  prairie.  Then  again,  the  expression  of  emotions 
of  mystery,. or  dread,  seems  to  require  the  notes  to  be  broken.  If, 
when  I  was  learning  one  of  these  songs,  1  held  a  quarter  or  half 
note  to  a  steady  tone,  I  was  corrected  and  told  to  “make  it  trem¬ 
ble.”  It  has  not  always  been  easy  for  me  to  distinguish  between 
a  tremolo  used  for  expression,  and  a  series  of  short  notes ;  I  have 
many  times  been  set  right  by  the  Indian  when  1  have  mistaken  a 
tremolo  for  thirty-second  notes.  In  trying  to  express  religious 
fears,  or  stress  of  emotion,  the  Indian  is  apt  to  slur  from  the  pitch  ; 
he  seldom  attacks  a  note  clearly. 

In  noting  these  songs  1  have  been  careful  to  present  them  truth¬ 
fully,  and  "they  have  been  accepted  by  the  Indian  as  correct.  To 
convey  Indian  mannerism  would  be  impossible,  and  any  attempt 
to  do  so  by  a  fanciful  notatiou  would  end  in  caricature.  These 
mannerisms  do  not  form  an  integral  part  of  the  Indian’s  music,  he 
is  unconscious  of  them.  It  is  easy  to  be  caught  in  the  meshes  of 
these  external  peculiarities  of  a  strange  people,  but  if  one  would 
hear  Indian  music  and  understand  it,  one  must  ignore  as  he  does 
his  manner  of  singing. 


Alice  C.  Fletcher. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 


PEABODY  MUSEUM 

—Harvard  University — 


Vol.  I,  No.  (> 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES 
IN  MAINE 


15  V 


CHARLES  C.,  WILLOUGHBY 

Chief  Assistant  in  the  Peabody  Museum 


With  Four  Plates  and  Fifty  Illustrations  in  the  Text 
by  the  Author 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
PEABODY  MUSEUM  OF  AMERICAN 
ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY 
1898 


Salem  TPresa : 

The  Salem  Press  Co.,  Salem,  Mass. 
1S9S. 


flbis  paper  is  publisbeb  by  tbe  timely  aib  of 

Clarence  Bloomftelb  flDoore 

of  tbe  class  of  1873 

wbose  many  contributions  to  tbe  peaboby  flbuseum 
bane  eremplifieb  bis  benotion  to  Hmerican 
Hrcbaeology  anb  wbose  personal  researcbes 
bane  materially  aibeb  its  abnancement 


jf.  M.  iPutnam 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


Several  years  ago,  Dr.  A.  C.  Hamlin  of  Bangor,  Maine,  kindly 
gave  to  the  Curator  of  the  Museum  information  of  an  interesting 
Indian  burial  place  in  Bucksport.  In  the  summer  of  1892,  the 
opportunity  occurred  of  securing  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Willoughby, 
who  is  a  Maine  man  and  familiar  with  the  region  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Hamlin,  to  carry  on  for  the  Museum  the  exploration  of  this 
burial  place  and  also  of  another  at  Orland. 

The  results  of  these  explorations  proved  so  interesting,  and  the 
work  was  so  admirably  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the  Museum 
methods,  that  it  was  decided  to  use  the  material  from  the  Orland  site 
to  illustrate  the  “  Methods  of  Archaeological  Research  by  the  Pea¬ 
body  Museum,”  in  the  Harvard  University  Exhibit  at  the  World’s 
Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago  in  1893.  The  collection  of 
specimens,  as  well  as  the  photographs,  sketches,  field  notes  and  a 
plaster  model  of  the  burial  place  at  Orland,  all  by  Mr.  Willoughby, 
were  exhibited  in  the  Liberal  Arts  Buildiug.  The  exhibit  attracted 
favorable  comment  and  was  awarded  a  medal  at  the  close  of  the 
Exposition.  The  Bucksport  exhibit  was  made  in  the  Department 
of  Ethnology  in  the  Anthropological  Building. 

In  1894,  Mr.  Willoughby  explored  other  similar  burial  places  in 
Maine,  and  the  following  paper  gives  an  account  of  the  two  sea¬ 
sons’  work.  The  illustrations  are  from  drawings  and  photographs 
made  by  the  author. 


(387) 


4 


EDITORIAL  KOTK. 


The  specimens,  together  with  several  photographs  of  the  graves, 
and  models  showing  portions  of  two  of  the  sites,  are  arranged  in 
the  Museum. 

As  the  author  has  shown,  these  cemeteries  are  undoubtedly  of 
very  considerable  antiquity  ;  and  it  may  be  that  they  are  of  a  peo¬ 
ple  distinct  from  the  historical  Algouquins.  The  absence  of  pottery 
in  and  about  the  graves  is  a  fact  of  ethuic  importance,  and  one 
that  should  be  borne  in  mind  whenever  burial  places  on  the  coast 
of  Maine,  and  in  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  are  explored. 

Mr.  Willoughby  offers  a  possible  solution  of  the  question.  What 
people  made  these  ancient  cemeteries?  But  it  is  essential  that  a 
burial  place  in  Newfoundland,  the  known  country  of  the  Beothuks, 
should  be  explored  in  order  to  provide  the  means  of  comparison 
with  the  burial  customs  of  the  prehistoric  people  on  the  coast  of 
Maine. 

F.  W.  Putnam, 

Curator  of  Peabody  Museum. 

Cambricb/e,  T/h.-w., 

June  22.  1898. 


Model  of  the  Burial  Place  at  Orland,  Me.,  when  partially  explored,  showing  graves. 


PREHISTORIC 

BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


In  the  summers  of  1892  and  1894  the  writer  had  the  good  fortune 
to  examine,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Peabodv  Museum,  several 
burial  sites  in  Maine.  These  graves  proved  to  be  of  great  antiq¬ 
uity  and  in  several  particulars  unlike  any  heretofore  described. 

Two  of  these  cemeteries  had  been  dug  over  by  collectors  of 
relics,  who  obtained  many  implements  of  stone.  Two  others  had 
been  partially  destroyed  by  the  removal  of  gravel.  The  fifth  was 
fortunately  discovered  intact. 

The  first  of  these  burial  places  was  in  a  gravel  bank  upon  the 
western  shore  of  a  lake  in  the  town  of  Damariscotta,  Lincoln  Co. 
It  was  discovered  by  a  farmer  while  digging  a  fox  from  his  bur¬ 
row.  The  excavation  revealed  a  stone  implement  lying  upon  a 
mass  of  red  ochre.  Further  excavations  showed  the  layer  of 
ochre  to  be  quite  extensive,  while  other  layers  occurred  at  irregu¬ 
lar  intervals.  About  seventy-five  gouges,  celts,  knives  and  pen¬ 
dants  were  found.  These  implements  are  now  in  the  cabinet  of 
the  Maine  Historical  Society  at  Portland. 

The  second  burial  place  was  upon  the  northern  slope  of  a  gravel 
hill  at  the  head  of  Frenchman’s  Bay,  near  Mt.  Desert  Ferry, 
Hancock  Co.  The  gravel  bank  wras  partially  removed  preparatory 
to  the  construction  of  a  railroad.  Stone  implements  of  a  similar 
character  to  those  already  mentioned  were  found  lying  in  red  ochre. 
Several  of  these  implements  have  been  presented  to  the  Peabody 
Museum  by  Mr.  Alfred  Johnson  of  Boston  and  Mr.  H.  L.  Wood¬ 
cock  of  Belfast,  Maine.  These  localities  were  visited  but  no  ad¬ 
ditional  graves  were  fouod. 

The  three  other  burial  places  referred  to  will  be  described  in 
detail.  The  evidence  of  their  very  considerable  antiquity  is  con- 

389 


6 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


elusive  ;  they  are  probably  the  oldest  cemeteries  known  in  the 
New  England  states.1 

Fragments  of  an  occipital  bone,  which  had  been  preserved  by 
contact  with  beads  of  native  copper,  were  found  in  one  grave. 
No  implements  or  ochre  were  found  in  this  grave,  and  it  is  prob¬ 
able  that  it  was  of  more  recent  date  than  the  others.  In  some  of 
the  other  graves  there  was  a  small  quantity  of  bone  dust  associated 
with  the  implements  and  the  ochre. 

BURIAL  PLACE  AT  ELLSWORTH. 

This  cemetery  is  in  Hancock  County,  about  one  mile  below  the 
village  of  Ellsworth,  and  is  situated  in  a  sand  and  gravel  bank 
terminating  in  a  high  bluff  which  at  this  point  forms  the  eastern 
bank  of  Union  River.  It  was  discovered  while  removing  sand  and 
gravel.  Each  grave  had  a  deposit  of  red  ochre  in  which  the  im¬ 
plements  were  found.  The  finding  of  these  objects  caused  much 
local  excitement,  and  a  large  area  was  dug  over  by  citizens  and 
many  implements  secured,  including  several  long  spear  points  made 
of  compact  slate.  Many  of  these  implements  were  presented  to 
the  Peabody  Museum  by  Mr.  G.  fS.  Cook  and  Dr.  W.  M.  Haines  of 
Ellsworth  and  Mr.  H.  L.  Woodcock  of  Belfast,  who  took  them 
from  the  graves.  An  examination  of  the  bank  immediately  sur¬ 
rounding  the  gravel  pit  revealed  indications  of  undisturbed  graves, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  its  systematic  exploration.  Mr. 
J.  W.  Coombs,  the  owner  of  the  land,  very  kindly  allowed  excava¬ 
tions  to  be  made,  and  gave  assistance  in  many  ways.  Mr.  John  R. 
Swanton,  a  Harvard  student,  assisted  in  the  exploration  of  this 
burial  place  and  several  workmen  were  employed. 

The  ground  to  be  explored  was  staked  off  into  sections  ten  feet 
square  and  each  section  was  mapped  to  scale  and  numbered  as 
shown  in  the  plan,  Plate  I.  Excavations  were  begun  at  the  edge 
of  the  gravel  pit  in  Sec.  8,  the  workmen  throwing  the  earth  behind 
them  as  they  advanced,  keeping  a  perpendicular  wall  of  gravel 
in  front.  When  a  grave  was  encountered  the  objects  within  it 
were  not  disturbed  until  the  earth  covering  them  was  carefully  re¬ 
moved  with  trowel  and  small  hand  broom,  photographs  of  the  im- 

1  In  several  other  localities  in  Maine,  implements  have  been  found  under  circum¬ 
stances  which  render  it  probable  that  they  were  deposited  in  graves  of  this  type  and 
period.  One  man  declared  that  he  turned  out  ninety-nine  implements  within  a 
space  of  a  few  square  rods  by  “ploughing  three  furrows  deep.” 

390 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Yol.  X,  iSTo.  6,  PI.  I. 


PLAN  OF  PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACE.  ELLSWORTH,  MAINE. 

Tiie  shading  within  the  graves  indicates  red  ochre,  upon  or  within  which 

THE  IMPLEMENTS  WERE  FOUND. 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


7 


plements  taken,  and  measurements  made  and  recorded.  The  exaot 
location  of  each  implement  was  ascertained  by  the  use  of  two  tape 
lines.  Using  one  side  of  the  square  section  as  a  base  line  the 
measurements  were  made  from  the  two  corner  stakes.  The  depth 
of  the  deposit  below  the  surface  was  noted  and  the  position  of  each 
implement  further  ascertained  by  means  of  a  pocket  compass. 

Although  included  in  the  area  of  the  gravel  pit  only  a  portion 
of  the  top  soil  had  been  removed  from  the 
northern  half  of  Sec.  8.  A  trench  was  dug 
to  a  depth  of  over  four  feet  near  the  southern 
portion  of  this  section  and  gradually  worked 
north.  The  wall  of  earth  showed  no  traces 
of  having  ever  been  disturbed  until  the 
southern  margin  of  G-rave  A  was  reached. 

Nine  inches  from  the  surface  a  bed  of 
white  ashes,  with  a  maximum  thickness  of 
three  inches,  was  found,  together  with  a 
few  small  fragments  of  charcoal  (Fig.  1, 
vertical  cross  section) . 

The  earth  immediately  be¬ 
low  the  ashes  was  of  a  dark 
brown  color  and  very  com¬ 
pact.  Farther  down  the 
grave!  assumed  rich  brown 

and  yellow  shades.  Four  feet  from  the  surface  a 
mass  of  red  ochre  (indicated  upon  the  plan  by 
dotted  shading)  was  discovered  at  the  bottom  of 
the  grave.  The  outline  of  the  grave  could  be 
traced,  and  its  form  is  shown  in  the  cross  section 
through  its  centre.  When  the  line  of  ochre  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  wall  of  sand  and  gravel  the  super¬ 
incumbent  earth  was  removed  with  a  trowel  and 
examined  for  human  remains,  but  careful  search 
revealed  no  indications  of  decayed  bone.  No 
implements  were  found  with  the  ochre.  Just 
north  of  the  centre  of  the  grave  the  bed  of  ashes 
became  thicker,  and  a  dark  brown  mass  of  earth  with  sharply  de¬ 
fined  edges  and  of  the  peculiar  outline  shown  in  the  cross  section, 
Fig.  2,  was  encountered. 

In  nearly  all  graves  of  this  burial  place  dark  earth  masses  shad- 

391 


o'- . e' 


Fig.  2.  Vertical 
cross  section  D',E'. 
through  a  portion  ol 
Grave  A,  Ellsworth, 
Me.  The  dotted  line 
indicates  the  surface 
of  ground  before  for¬ 
mation  of  gravel  pit. 
C.  Ashes.  D.  Dis¬ 
coloration  caused  by 
lye  from  ashes.  E. 
Disturbed  gravel 
within  grave. 


Fig.  1.  Vertical  cross 
section  B',C',  through 
Grave  A,  Ellsworth,  Me. 
The  dotted  line  indicates 
the  surface  of  ground  be¬ 
fore  formation  of  gravel 
pit.  C.  Ashes.  D.  Discolor¬ 
ation  caused  by  lye  from 
ashes.  E.  Disturbed  gravel 
within  grave.  F.  Redochre. 
G.  Undisturbed  gravel. 


8 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


ing  into  rich  browns  and  yellows  were  noted  just  beneath  the  ash 
beds.  These  masses  varied  greatly  in  form  and  size.  This  dis¬ 
coloration  of  the  gravel  was  probably  produced  by  the  percolation 
of  lye  from  the  ashes. 

Carrying  the  trench  along  the  western  side  of  Sec.  7,  within  the 
gravel  pit,  a  mass  of  red  ochre  was  unearthed  twenty-six  inches 
below  the  original  surface,  but  only  a  few  inches  below  the  floor 
of  the  gravel  pit.  This  ochre  marks  a  grave  (B),  but  as  the  greater 
portion  of  earth  above  the  pigment  had 
been  removed,  its  outline  could  not  be 
traced.  A  very  small  quantity  of  whitish 
powder,  which  proved  to  be  bone  dust, 
was  found  near  the  ochre. 

Just  east  of  this  grave  the  edge  of  the 
gravel  pit  rose  abruptly  to  the  grassy  sur¬ 
face  of  the  field,  and  the  wall  of  the 
excavation  showed  the  outline 

Eig.  3.  Vertical  cross  sec  0f  (^I  ave  C.  A  vertical  cross 
tion  F',  G',  through  Grave  C,  .  . 

Ellsworth,  Me.  a.  Top  soil,  section  through  its  centre  is 
C.  Ashes.  D.  Discoloration  shown  in  Fig.  3.  A  bed  of 
caused  by  lye  from  ashes.  E.  .  ..  ,  „  .  .  ,  , 

Disturbed  gravel  within  grave.  wblte  ashes  waS  foluld  Jlist  t>e- 
F.  Red  ochre.  G.  Undisturbed  low  the  top  soil.  A  mass  of 
gravel.  II.  Chipped  knife.  ,  ,  ,  .  ,  ,, 

red  ochre  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  the  grave,  which  was  thirty-eight  inches  below  the 
surface.  Buried  within  this  ochre  was  the  chipped  kuife 
of  t’elsite  shown  in  Fig.  4.  A  greater  part  of  the  ochre 
had  been  placed  in  the  northern  side  of  the  grave,  and 
the  mass  measured  thirty-two  inches  in  length.  Xo 
trace  of  bones  was  found. 

Just  beyond  Grave  C,  the  wall  of  earth  showed  a  thin  Grave  c, 
line  of  ashes,  nine  and  one-half  inches  below  the  surface,  Ej1b”°1,tl1’ 
extending  over  Grave  D  and  continuing  northward 
several  feet.  A  pocket  of  white  ashes  eighteen  inches  across  and 
eight  inches  deep,  of  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  5,  joined  the  thin 
layer  over  the  centre  of  the  grave.  Below  the  ashes  the  disturbed 
earth  within  the  grave  was  of  various  tints  of  brown  and  yellow. 
A  mass  of  red  ochre,  forty  inches  from  the  surface,  lay  a  little  to 
one  side  of  the  centre  at  the  bottom  of  the  grave,  together  with  a 
small  quantity  of  yellowish  earth  mixed  with  bone  dust,  near  which 
was  a  small,  dark  mass  of  earth  evidently  colored  by  the  decom- 


392 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


9 


position  of  a  human  body.  No  implements  were  found  in  this 
grave. 

Grave  E,  Sec.  6,  forty  inches  in  depth,  was  of  the  same  general 
character  as  those  previously  described.  The  layer  of  ashes  above 
extended  beyond  the  limits  of  the  grave  and  fragments  of  charcoal 
lay  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  ashes.  The  dark  mass  of 
cemented  earth  was  of  peculiar  form  and  extended  nearly  to 
the  bottom  of  the  grave.  Two  grooved  stone  pendants  and  a 
decomposed  firestone  were  surrounded  by  ,  t 

a  quantity  of  red  ochre  which  occupied  the 
position  shown  in  the  vertical  section. 

Fig.  6.  The  relative  position  of  these  ob¬ 
jects  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  Plate  I. 

Only  a  cinder-like  mass  and  yellow  oxide 
of  iron  in  powder  remained  of  the  fire¬ 
stone  which  was  originally  a  nodule  of 
iron  pyrites. 

During  the  explorations  of  these  ancient 


Fig.  5.  Vertical  cross  sec¬ 
tion  H',  I',  through  Grave  D, 
burial  places,  Ellsworth,  Me.  A.  Top  soil, 
several  more  or  B-  Charcoal.  C.  Ashes.  I>. 

Discoloration  caused  by  lye 
from  ashes.  E.  Disturbed 
gravel  within  grave.  F.  Red 
ochre.  G.  Undisturbed  gravel. 


less  decomposed 
firestones  were 
found.  They  oc¬ 
curred  singly  or  in  pairs.  Occasionally 
a  nodule  of  pyrites  had  been  placed  in 
the  grave  accompanied  by  a  well-battered 
„  „T  .  ,  felsite  hammers  tone.  Frequently  a  little 

Fig.  6.  vertical  cross  section  A  J 

through  Grave  e,  Elis-  mass  of  yellow  oxide  of  irou  in  powder 

worth,  Me.  a.  Top  soil.  B.  was  ap  that  remained  of  one  of  these 
Charcoal.  C.  Ashes.  D.  Dis¬ 
coloration  caused  by  lye  from  ancient  fire-making  implements,  cincl  this 

ashes.  E.  Disturbed  gravel  js  one  0f  the  evidences  of  the  age  of  the 

burials. 

The  outline  of  the  graves  within  the 
northern  half  of  the  cemetery  could  not  be  determined  with  cer¬ 
tainty  owing  to  the  coarseness  of  the  gravel.  No  difficulty  was 
experienced,  however,  in  obtaining  accurate  cross  sections  of  the 
great  tire  hole  or  communal  grave. 

A  mass  of  red  ochre  was  found  east  of  the  centre  of  Sec.  5, 
forty-eight  inches  from  the  surface,  which  marked  the  bottom  of 
Grave  P.  Except  in  a  few  places  the  disturbed  earth  above  could 


within  grave.  F.  Red  ochre 
G.  Undisturbed  gravel.  H. 
Pear-shaped  pendant. 


393 


10 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


not  be  distinguished  from  the  surrounding  gravel,  and  it  was  im¬ 
possible  to  trace  the  outline  of  the  grave. 

North  of  Grave  P  were  two  circular  depressions  or  “  tire  holes,” 
the  largest  being  about  eighteen  feet  in  diameter  with  a  central 
depression  of  one  foot.  Excavations  showed  this  to  be  a  commu¬ 
nal  grave  where  several  bodies  had  been  buried.  Each  deposit  of 
ochre  within  the  fire  hole  probably  marked  the  resting  place  of  a 
body  ;  and  for  convenience  each  is  considered  a  separate  grave, 
and  is  so  designated  upon  the  plan. 

Ashes  were  encountered  a  few  feet  from  the  southern  margin  of 
the  great  depression  ;  and  as  the  work  progressed  all  the  character¬ 
istics  of  the  graves  already  described  were  found  to  be  present 
here  upon  a  larger  scale. 

The  deposit  of  ochre  marking  Grave  F,  Sec.  3,  lay  forty-one 
inches  beneath  the  surface,  together  with  a  dark  discoloration  of 
the  gravel  and  a  small  amount  of  whitish  grains,  which  analysis 
showed  to  be  decayed  bone. 

A  short  distance  to  the  east,  surrounded  by  a  layer  of  red  ochre, 
was  an  angular  rock  and  near  it,  upon  opposite  sides,  were  two 
pear-shaped  pendants  with  their  grooved  ends  pointing  to  the 
southwest.  A  partially  disintegrated  firestone  lay  to  the  right 
of  the  rock.  Judging  by  the  appearance  of  the  surrounding  earth 
two  or  more  bodies  had  been  buried  near  this  stone.  A  small 
quantity  of  bone  dust  was  obtained  from  Grave  G,  but  all  traces 
of  bone  had  disappeared  from  Grave  I. 

Grave  II  was  three  feet  southeast  of  the  centre  of  the  fire  hole. 
A  pendant  and  a  rude  implement  of  slaty  stone  lay  upon  the  paint. 

Vertical  cross  sections  through  this  fire  hole  at  L'-M'  aud  N'-O' 
are  shown  in  Figs.  7  and  8.  Near  the  centre  of  the  depression 
and  three  feet  from  the  surface  was  found  a  mass  of  dark  brown 
earth  mixed  with  red  ochre.  This  mass  had  a  maximum  diameter 
of  three  feet;  it  varied  from  three  to  eight  inches  in  thickness, 
and  was  so  hard  that  it  was  difficult  to  break  even  with  a  pick. 
Although  examined  with  the  greatest  care  no  trace  of  bone  visible 
to  the  eye  was  found.  Chemical  analysis,  however,  showed  de¬ 
cayed  bone  to  be  present. 

Two  masses  of  red  ochre  were  discovered  fifty-three  inches  from 
the  surface  in  the  eastern  half  of  Sec.  4  (Grave  L).  This  grave 
may  have  been  dug  previous  to  the  excavation  of  the  fire  hole. 
Its  outline  could  not  be  traced,  neither  was  it  possible  to  determine 


394 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


11 


whether  it  contained  one  or  two  burials,  although  the  indication 
seemed  to  be  that  two  bodies  had  been  deposited  there.  Near  the 
ochre  upon  which  the  implements  had  been  placed,  a  small  quantity 
of  bone  dust  was  found,  and  close  to  the  accompanying  deposit  of 


Fig.  7.  Vertical  cross  section  L',M',  through  Communal  Grave  or  Fire  Hole  1,  Ells¬ 
worth,  Me.  A.  Top  soil.  B.  Charcoal.  C,  C.  Ashes.  D.  Discoloration  caused  by 
lye  from  ashes.  E.  Disturbed  gravel  within  Are  hole.  F.  Red  ochre.  G.  Undis¬ 
turbed  gravel.  H.  Small  boulder.  I.  Firestone.  J.  Rude  stone  implement. 

paint  lay  masses  of  dark  earth  probably  discolored  by  the  decom¬ 
position  of  a  human  body.  The  ochre  had  been  deposited  in  two 
masses,  the  larger  being  about  one-half  inch  in  thickness  and 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter. 


Fig.  8.  Vertical  cross  section  N',0',  through  Communal  Grave  or  Fire  Hole  1,  Ells¬ 
worth,  Me.  A.  Top  soil.  B.  Charcoal.  C.  Ashes.  D.  Discoloration  caused  by  lye 
from  ashes.  E.  Disturbed  gravel  within  Are  hole.  F.  Red  ochre.  G.  Undisturbed 
gravel.  The  dark  mass,  to  the  left  of  E,  contained  red  ochre  and  bone  dust. 


Within  this  mass  of  paint  were  found  a  small  rude  scraper  and 
a  flake,  both  of  felsite,  and  upon  it  lay  a  partially  disintegrated 
firestone  and  the  rudely  engraved  implement  illustrated  in  Fig.  9. 

395 


12 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


Fig.  !).  1  implement  l'rom  Grave  L,  Ells¬ 
worth,  Me.  Ornamented  with  a  design 
in  incised  lines,  i. 


This  latter  implement  somewhat  resembles  the  so-called  “ulus” 
or  slate  knives  which  are  uot  uncommon  in  New  England.  The 
cutting  edge  had  been  broken  away  and  the  implement  had  not 
been  used  for  cutting  purposes  for  some  time  previous  to  its  de¬ 
posit  in  the  grave.  The  side  opposite  lo  that  shown  in  the  draw¬ 
ing  bears  evidence  of  its  use  as  a 
sharpening  slone,  and  many  of 
the  incised  lines  upon  it  have  been 
nearly  obliterated.  The  design 
upon  the  side  illustrated  is  well 
preserved,  onty  a  few  of  the 
lines  having  been  ground  away. 
Near  the  northwestern  edge  of 
fire  hole  No.  1  a  large  mass  of  deep  red  ochre  was  unearthed, 
seventeen  inches  below  the  original  surface,  and  upon  it  lay  a  well 
finished  pendant  (Plate  II).  A  small  disintegrated  firestone  was 
also  discovered  in  the  paint.  No  indications  of  human  remains 
were  found,  nor  could  the  outline  of  the 

. . . -  . o' 

grave  be  traced. 

Fire  hole  No.  2  had  been  dug  to  the 
depth  of  twenty-eight  inches.  A  cross 
section  showed  a  mixture  of  earth,  ashes 
and  charcoal  with  occasionally  small 
quantities  of  red  ochre.  It  seemed  that 
the  earth  had  been  disturbed  quite  re¬ 
cently,  probably  by  workmen  prospecting 
for  gravel. 

Grave  O,  twenty-four  inches  below  the 
original  surface,  contained  red  ochre  and 
the  remains  of  a  firestone.  A  discolored 
mass  of  earth  three  inches  in  thickness 
was  found  near  the  ochre,  but  there  was 
no  indication  of  bone.  This  grave  and 
graves  M  and  N  were  within  the  limits  of  a  shallow  gravel  pit, 
and  several  inches  of  the  earth  above  them  had  been  removed. 

Grave  N,  Section  2,  contained  neither  ochre  nor  implements. 
As  above  noted  this  grave  was  within  the  limits  of  the  small  gravel 
pit,  and  the  earth  above  it  had  been  removed  to  a  depth  of  from 
four  to  twelve  inches.  The  original  surface  is  indicated  by  the 
39t> 


Fig.  10.  Vertical  cross  sec¬ 
tion  P’,  (}  .  through  Grave  N, 
Ellsworth, Me.  A.  Fragments 
of  occipital  hone,  and  heads  of 
native  copper.  B.  Fragments 
of  birch  bark.  C.  Disturbed 
gravel  within  grave.  D.  Un- 
disturbed  gravel.  E.  Surface 
of  ground  before  formation 
of  gravel  pit. 


Showing  red  ochre  and  pear-shaped  pendant. 


Museum  Papers.  Vol. 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


13 


dotted  line  E  in  Fig.  10.  The  upper  remaining  portion  of  the 
grave  contained  ashes  and  a  small  quantity  of  charcoal  mixed  with 
the  gravel.  The  charcoal  and  ashes  were  thickest  near  the  centre 
of  the  grave.  About  nineteen  inches  from  the  surface  and  a  little 
to  one  side  of  the  centre  were  the  crumbling  fragments  of  a  hu¬ 
man  occipital  bone,  and  twenty-two  beads  made  by  rolling  strips 
of  native  copper.  A  number  of  the  beads  lay  in  contact  with  the 


6  a 


Fig.  11.  Native  copper  beads  and  fragments  of  occipital  bone  from  Grave  N, 
Ellsworth,  Me.  «  Fragments  of  occipital  bone.  b.  Beads  in  contact  with  fragment 
of  bone.  c.  Bead  with  piece  of  buckskin  cord  protruding,  in  contact  with  fragment 
of  bone,  d,  e.  Beads.  /.  Portion  of  buckskin  cord  upon  which  beads  were  strung, 
showing  knot.  1 


bone.  Typical  forms  of  these  beads  with  fragments  of  the  buck¬ 
skin  thong  upon  which  they  were  strung,  and  pieces  of  the  occipi¬ 
tal  bone  are  illustrated  in  Fig.  11.  The  preservation  of  both 
bone  and  thong  is  due  to  the  presence  of  copper  salts.  All  other 
parts  of  the  skull  and  skeleton  had  disappeared.  On  two  or  three 
pieces  of  charcoal  was  a  cinder-like  substance  which  may  have 
been  caused  by  the  burning  wood  coming  in  contact  with  the  body, 

397 


14 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


but  there  was  no  evidence  of  cremation.  On  the  contrary,  in  all 
these  burials  care  seemed  to  have  been  exercised  to  prevent  the  fire 
over  the  graves  from  reaching  the  bodies. 

About  two  feet  below  the  original  surface  was  a  layer  of  birch 
bark  upon  which  the  body  had  probably  been  placed.  Fragments 
of  this  bark,  two  inches  or  more  in  length,  are  perfectly  preserved 
and  one  or  two  pieces  show  contact  with  fire.  It  seems  incredible 
that  this  bark  should  have  outlasted  the  skeleton.1  A  careful 
search  for  the  line  of  contact  between  the  disturbed  and  undis¬ 
turbed  gravel  failed  to  outline  the  grave.  It  was  evident  that  the 
body  had  been  placed  at  length  and  not,  as  was  probably  the  case 
in  the  majority  of  burials  in  this  cemetery,  in  a  sitting  posture. 
The  gravel  was  discolored  for  several  inches  below  the  layer  of 


.  bark,  but  it  was  impossible 


to  tell  whether  the  earth  had 


been  disturbed  or  merely  dis¬ 
colored  by  the  percolating  lye 


from  the  ashes.  It  is  to  be 


regretted  that  the  gravel  had 


II.  Slate  spearpolnt.  J,  J.  Sand  cemented  in-  a|so  removcd  tile  greater  poi  - 
to  a  compact  mass. 


lion  of  the  ash  bed  which  was 


probably  present  just  below  the  top  soil.  This  burial  had  few 
features  in  common  with  the  other  graves  in  this  cemetery,  and 
may  be  of  a  later  date.  Xo  implements  or  traces  of  red  ochre 
were  found. 

The  gravel  immediately  south  of  Grave  X  was  coarse  and  con¬ 
tained  a  large  amount  of  iron  which  had  cemented  it  into  a  oom- 
pact  mass  not  easily  broken  with  a  pick. 

Still  farther  to  the  south  the  gravel  became  finer  and  was  finally 
replaced  by  sand  in  Sections  9  and  10.  The  exposed  wall  of  sand 
at  the  western  edge  of  the  gravel  pit  showed  no  signs  of  stratifi¬ 
cation,  neither  were  there  any  indications  of  its  ever  having  been 
disturbed  even  within  the  limits  of  Grave  J.  As  the  wall  of  sand 
was  gradually  removed,  a  layer  of  red  ochre  was  encountered 
twenty-one  inches  from  the  surface  (at  the  left  in  vertical  cross 
section.  Fig.  12)  and  upon  it  lay  the  finely  finished  slate  spear 

1  Professor  Putnam  found  a  large  piece  of  birch  bark  in  an  Indian’s  grave  in  Win- 
throp,  Mass.,  which  must  have  been  over  two  hundred  years  old. 


398 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


15 


point  illustrated  in  Fig.  13.  About  a  foot  farther  to  the  north 
(Fig.  12)  lav  another  mass  of  ochre  without  implements.  Still 
farther  to  the  north  and  on  a  higher  level  were  found  ashes  and 
bits  of  charcoal.  The  sand  below  the  layers  of  ochre  was  some¬ 
what  discolored  and  portions  of  it  were  cemented  into  compact 
masses,  evidently  by  the  lime  from  the  skeleton.  No 
fragment  of  bone  or  particle  of  bone  dust  was  found,  nor 
could  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  disturbed  and 
undisturbed  sand  be  determined.  South  of  Grave  J  an 
undulating  line  of  light  red  ochre  extended  north  and 
south  for  a  distance  of  twelve  feet,  four  inches,  at  an 
average  depth  of  two  feet  below  the  surface,  the  maximum 
depth  being  thirty  inches.  The  ochre  varied  in  thickness 
from  one-half  inch  to  three  inches.  Small  quantities  of 
ashes  aDd  charcoal  were  encountered  at  an  average  depth 
of  eight  inches  from  the  surface. 

The  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  14  were  taken  from 
various  depths,  each  implement  lying  in  a  little  mass  of 
ochre  of  a  darker  shade  than  that  forming  the  continuous 
line  below.  The  relative  position  of  the  implements  is 
shown  upon  the  plan.  (Plate  I,  Section  10.) 

The  first  implement  discovered  in  Grave  K  was  the 
pendant  illustrated  in  Fig.  14  /  (the  most  easterly  in  the 
plan).  This  lay  in  a  mass  of  ochre  twelve  inches  from 
the  surface.  Two  inches  below  this  deposit  was  a  disc¬ 
shaped  discoloration  of  the  sand  five  inches  in  diameter 
and  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness  which  was  sep¬ 
arated  from  the  ochre  above  and  below  by  a  layer  of  pure 
sand.  The  sand  was  discolored  and  cemented  in  several 

rnj.  id. 

places  below  the  implements.  South  of  the  main  deposit  Polished 
of  implements  a  single  pendant  (No.  20)  lay  twenty-four  sla^.s^tear‘ 
inches  beneath  the  surface  in  a  mass  of  red  ochre.  As  Grave  j, 
this  relic  may  have  been  deposited  in  another  grave,  Ells'vorth> 

-  t  r  °  Me.  j 

it  is  not  included  in  the  illustrations  of  objects  from 
Grave  K.  Thirty  inches  from  the  surface  and  near  the  centre  of 
the  deposit  lay  the  chipped  knife,  the  pendant,  and  the  sharpening 
stone  illustrated  in  Fig.  14,  gr,  e  and  i.  The  two  celt-like  blades 
a  and  i  were  twenty-eight  inches  below  the  surface.  Six  inches 
above  and  to  the  north  of  the  smaller  of  these  blades  was  found 
the  pendant  (cl)  with  a  much  disintegrated  surface.  The  other 


309 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


16 

implements  are  a  small  chisel,  probably  once  fitted  to  a  handle  of 
wood  or  antler  (h)  and  a  typical  specimen  of  a  felsite  hammer- 
stone  (j)  once  forming  a  part  of  afire-making  set.  Its  companion, 
a  lump  of  iron  pyrites,  had  become  entirely  disintegrated,  nothing 
remaining  of  it  save  a  few  particles  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron  which 
lay  in  the  sand  and  adhered  to  the  hamrnerstone.  This  hammer- 
stone,  like  most  of  these  implements  obtained  during  the  explora¬ 
tions,  is  skilfully  fashioned  to  fit  the  fingers,  only  one  side  being 
used  to  strike  the  pyrites  —  the  upper  and  right  hand  side  as  shown 


Eh;.  II.  Implements  from  Grave  K,  Ellsworth,  Me.  a,  b,  c.  Celt  like  blades. 

(/,  e,f.  Pear-shaped  pendants,  g.  Chipped  knife,  ft.  Small  chisel-like  imple¬ 
ment.  i.  Polishing  stone,  j.  Felsite  hamrnerstone,  part  of  a  fire-making  set. 

in  the  drawing.  The  lower  portions  of  the  celt-like  blades  ob¬ 
tained  from  this  grave  are  polished  and  the  cutting  edges  are  sharp 
and  in  perfect  condition,  while  the  upper  portions  are  rudely  finished 
and  were  probably  inserted  into  sockets  of  wood  or  antler. 

The  material  removed  from  the  southern  part  of  the  large  gravel 
pit  previous  to  my  exploiations  was  principally  sand.  A  number 
of  graves  were  encountered  during  the  removal  of  the  sand  and 
many  implements  were  found. 

The  Peabody  Museum  is  fortunate  in  receiving  as  a  gift  a  large 
portion  of  these  implements.  They  consist  of  eighteen  celts,  a 
400 


PREHISTORIC  15URIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


17 


pear-shaped  pendant,  fourteen  large  chipped  knives  or  spearpoints 
of  which  Fig.  15  is  a  good  example,  and  sixteen  finely  polished  and 
gracefully  shaped  lanceheads,  typical  forms  of  which  are  shown 
in  Fig.  10.  The  majority  of  these  lanceheads  are 
of  compact  green  slate,  with  cross  section  either 
lenticular,  lozenge-shaped  or  octagonal.  No  reliable 
information  could  be  obtained  regarding  their  posi¬ 
tions  in  the  graves.  It  was  said  that  they  were 
found  about  two  feet  from  the  surface  lying  in  red 
ochre.  It  is  probable  that  their  positions  were  not 
dissimilar  to  that  of  the  specimen  taken  from  Grave 
J.  This  lancehead  had  probably  been  fastened  to  a 
shaft  and  placed  with  the  body  lengthwise  in  the 
grave,  the  slate  point  evidently  occupying  a  position 
near  the  head. 

Judging  from  the  graves  of  which  the  outlines 
could  be  traced,  there  were  three  kinds  of  burials  in 
this  ancient  cemetery.  The  first  consisted  of  bowl¬ 
shaped  cavities  dug  to  a  depth  of  from  thirty-eight 
to  fifty- three  inches.  Within  the  cavity  the  body 

was  placed,  probably  in  a  flexed  position  and  accom¬ 
panied  by  various  worldly  possessions  of  the  de¬ 
ceased.  The  grave  was  then  filled  with  gravel  and 
a  fire  kindled  over  it.  The  second  type  of  burial  was  similar  to 
this,  the  principal  differences  being  in  the  size  of  the  grave  and 
the  number  of  bodies  deposited  therein.  The  third  type  differed 
from  the  others  in  having  the  body  placed  at  length  in  a  shallow 
grave . 

BURIAL  PLACE  AT  BUCKSPORT. 

Bucksport  is  eighteen  miles  below  Bangor  upon  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Penobscot  river.  The  peninsula  upon  which  the  ancient 
cemetery  is  situated  is  locally  known  as  Indian  Point,  and  lies 
about  a  half  mile  above  the  village.  The  river  widens  just  south  of 
this  point  and  forms  a  broad,  shallow  bay,  bordered  by  a  pebbly 
beach.  Rising  from  this  beach  to  a  height  of  fifteen  feet  is  a  bluff. 
A  few  feet  from  its  edge  lies  a  gravel  knoll,  the  site  of  the  burial 
place.  A  greater  part  of  this  cemetery  was  free  from  the  growth 
of  sapling  pines  which  covered  the  rest  of  the  ridge, 
r.  M.  PAPEKS  l  2<i 


Fig.  15.  Type 
specimen  of 
chipped  imple¬ 
ments  from 
graves  in  large 
gravel  pit,  Ells¬ 
worth,  Me.  \ 


401 


18 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


i 


:j!| 


il 


lu  1891  Mr.  George  Blodgett  bad  occasion  to  remove  gravel  from 
the  southern  slope  of  the  ridge.  After  a  number  of  cart  loads  had 
been  removed,  one  of  the  workmen  noticed  a  well  wrought 
stone  implement  embedded  in  the  gravel.  Continued  exca¬ 
vations  revealed  other  specimens  lying  in  red  ochre,  and 
by  searching  along  the  road  where  the  gravel  had  been 
placed  for  repairs  several  more  were  found. 

North  of  the  gravel  pit  a  space  about  fifteen 
feet  by  fifty  feet  was  subsequently  dug  over 
by  residents  of  Bucksport  in  search  of  relics. 

The  number  of  implements  found  could  not  be 
ascertained,  but  about  forty  were  shown  to 
the  author. 

An  examination  of  the 
unwooded  part  of  this 
knoll  adjoining  the  gravel 
pit  gave  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  other  graves, 
and  preparations  were  ac¬ 
cordingly  made  for  a  care¬ 
ful  investigation  of  the 
undisturbed  portion  of  the 
cemetery.  The  ground 
was  staked  off  into  sec¬ 
tions  twelve  and  one-half 
feet  square,  and  a  plau 
made.  With  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  F,  all  the  sections 
in  the  plan  (Plate  III) 
contained  burials.  Other 
sections  explored,  but 
containing  no  burials,  are 
not  shown  upon  the  plan. 

To  the  south  of  the  area 
included  in  the  plan  lay 
the  gravel  pit  and  the 
ground  dug  over  by  residents  in  search  of  relics.  To  the  west  an 
outcrop  of  clay  replaces  the  gravel.  No  burials  were  found  in  this 
clay-  A  thick  growth  of  sapling  pines  covered  the  knoll  to  the 
402 


Fig.  lfi.  Type  specimens  of  polished  slate 
spearpoints  from  graves  in  large  gravel  pit, 
Ellsworth,  Me.  i 


PLAN  OB'  PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACE,  BUCIvSPORT,  MAINE. 


Peabody  Museum  Papers.  Vol. 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


19 


north  and  east.  Not  having  permission  to  remove  these  trees  this 
part  was  not  explored. 

The  gravel  was  comparatively  coarse  and  very  compact,  render¬ 
ing  necessary  the  use  of  a  pick. 

SECTION  A. 

Sinking  a  trench  along  the  southern  edge  of  the  undisturbed 
gravel  and  working  north,  a  line  of  ochre  was  disclosed  twenty- 
four  inches  from  the  surface  at  the  southern  edge  of  Section  A. 
The  vertical  bank  of  earth  was  examined  with  the  utmost  care  to 


Fig.  17.  Implements  from  Grave  A,  Section  A,  Bucksport,  Me.  £ 

ascertain  the  outline  of  the  grave,  but  neither  in  this  nor  in  any  of 
the  other  graves  could  the  outline  be  determined.  This  was  prob¬ 
ably  due  in  great  measure  to  the  coarseness  of  the  gravel.  The 
graves  were  also  so  near  to  each  other  as  to  leave  only  a  small 
amount  of  undisturbed  earth  within  the  area  of  the  cemetery. 

Removing  the  earth  from  above  the  deposit  of  ochre  the  group 
of  implements,  illustrated  in  Fig.  17,  was  brought  to  light.  The 
relative  positions  of  the  implements  are  shown  in  the  plan,  Plate 
III,  Section  A,  Grave  A.  The  gouge  at  the  left,  in  Fig.  17,  shows 

403 


20 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


considerable  weathering  and  has  a  broken  edge.  This  implement 
was  lying  upon  its  side,  the  position  in  which  it  was  probably  de¬ 
posited.  Near  the  gouge  were  two  large  chipped  knives  of  slate, 
lying  one  upon  the  other  witli  their  points  towards  the  south.  By 
the  side  of  these  implements  was  a  smaller  knife  of  felsite,  with 
its  point  toward  the  north.  A  foot  to  the  north  of  this  group  a 
gouge  (No.  5)  was  unearthed  lying  upon  its  side  in  a  little  mass  of 
ochre.  About  the  same  distance  to  the  left,  outside  the  ochre  and 
six  inches  below  its  level,  was  a  small  gouge  (No.  1),  having  a  nar¬ 
row  cutting  edge  which  had  evidently  been  ground  several  times. 
Following  the  diminishing  line  of  ochre,  a  rude  celt  eight  inches  in 
length  was  unearthed  lying  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  near  its 
upper  end  and  standing  upright  was  a  short,  well-made  celt,  with 
a  sharp,  slightly  curved  cutting  edge.  (Grave  K  ) 

Grave  B,  Section  A,  contained  two  deposits  of  ochre,  the  first 
being  eighteen  inches  below  the  surface  and  containing  a  short 
thick  celt  with  a  slightly  curved  cutting  edge,  similar  to  the  one 
last  described. 

The  second  deposit  lay  at  a  depth  of  twenty-seven  inches,  and 
consisted  of  a  mass  of  ochre,  a  celt  having  a  weathered  surface, 
a  chipped  knife,  and  a  mass  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron  in  powder 
which  was  all  that  remained  of  the  firestone  of  iron  pyrites  origi¬ 
nally  placed  in  the  grave. 

A  short  distance  to  the  northeast  was  Grave  E,  twenty-eight 
inches  below  the  surface,  containing  the  group  of  implements  illus¬ 
trated  in  Fig.  18.  The  finely  formed  and  beautifully  finished 
gouge  c«,  which  lay  upon  its  side,  retains  its  cutting  edge  in  perfect 
condition.  The  groove  extends  not  quite  half  the  length  of  the 
tool,  and  is  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  deep.  This  implement 
is  polished  for  about  one-fourth  of  its  length  above  the  cutting 
edge,  and  the  remainder  is  finished  by  the  process  known  as  peck¬ 
ing,  being  the  best  example  of  this  style  of  work  which  I  have 
seen.  This  gouge,  like  many  similar  implements  from  these  burial 
places,  is  made  of  a  compact  metamorphic  igneous  rock.  The 
chisel-like  too!  of  compact  green  slate  illustrated  in  b,  Fig.  18,  is 
about  a  half  inch  in  thickness  with  a  nearly  straight  cutting  edge. 
It  has  a  perforation  near  the  smaller  end.  By  the  side  of  this  tool 
lay  three  rudely  chipped  knives  of  felsite,  c,  d,  and  e,  with  their 
points  toward  the  south.  They  were  probably  once  hafted  in  short 
404 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


21 


handles  of  wood  or  antler,  and  must  have  been  very  old  when 
placed  in  the  grave,  as  their  surfaces  in  several  places  show  polish 
by  long  use.  The  felsite  of  which  these  knives  are  made  resembles 
very  closely  the  body  rock  of  Mt.  Ivineo,  Moosehead  Lake.  While 
the  material  may  have  been  obtained  from  some  erratic  boulder 
torn  from  the  mother  rock  and  deposited  by  glacial  action,  it  is 
more  likely  to  have  been  brought  by  the  Indians  from  Mt.  Kineo, 
since  near  the  base  of  this  mountain  the  author  has  discovered 
several  ancient  Indian  workshops  where  felsite  was  extensively 
worked . 


FlU.  18.  Implements  from  Grave  E,  Section  A,  Buoksport,  Me.  a.  Gouge. 
b.  Perforated  celt-like  implement,  c,  cl,  e.  Chipped  knives,  f.  Firestone.  I 

The  firestone,  f.  is  one  of  the  best  preserved  specimens  ob¬ 
tained  from  these  graves.  Although  somewhat  disintegrated  the 
surface  exposed  by  a  recent  fracture  shows  unchanged  crystals  of 
pyrites.  Its  specific  gravity  is  greater  than  any  of  the  other  fire¬ 
stones  recovered,  and  it  is  the  only  example  in  which  all  or  nearly 
all  of  the  pyrites  has  not  undergone  chemical  change. 

Grave  C,  thirty-three  inches  below  the  surface,  contained  an  un¬ 
usually  large  amount  of  red  ochre  of  exceptionally  brilliant  color. 

405 


22 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


Embedded  in  the  paint  were  the  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  19. 
These  consist  of  a  well-wrought  celt,  an  elongated  pebble  with 
polished  surface  probably  used  as  a  paint  pestle,  and  a  fire-making 
set  composed  of  a  felsite  hammerstone  (shown  at  the  left  in  the 
illustration),  fashioned  to  fit  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand,  with 
the  battered  surface  upon  one  side,  and  a  lump  of  limonite  the  re¬ 
sult  of  the  decomposition  of  a  nodule  of  pyrites  placed  in  the 
grave.  A  pear-shaped  pendant  without  accompanying  ochre  lay 
about  two  feet  from  this  deposit  at  a  depth  of  five  inches. 


Fm.  1!).  Implements  from  Grave  C,  Section  A,  Bucksport,  Me.  An  elongated 
pebble,  probably  a  paint  pestle,  a  celt-like  blade  and  a  lire-makimg  set.  $ 

Grave  D,  a  short  distance  to  the  northwest,  contained  a  small 
mass  of  red  ochre  eighteen  inches  from  the  surface.  Upon  the 
ochre  had  been  placed  two  firestones.  These  implements  were 
badly  decomposed,  all  that  remained  of  one  being  a  small  quantity 
of  yellow  powder  (oxide  of  iron)  while  its  companion  had  nearly 
disappeared,  only  a  small  crust-like  substance  covered  with  iron 
oxide  remaining. 

The  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  20,  together  with  the  usual 
deposit  of  red  ochre,  were  found  in  Grave  J,  Section  A. 

The  great  majority  of  objects  taken  from  the  graves  were  evi¬ 
dently  found  in  nearly  the  same  position  in  which  they  were  de¬ 
posited.  In  a  few  instances  the  implements  had  apparently  been 
displaced  by  the  decay  of  the  body  and  the  settling  of  the  earth. 
This  displacement  was  very  apparent  in  Grave  J.  The  objects 


40G 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


23 


were  lying  at  different  angles  and  at  depths  varying  from  six  to 
eighteen  inches.  The  principal  deposit  of  ochre  was  eighteen 
inches  below  the  surface. 

A  gouge  with  a  shallow  groove,  its  surface  being  unpolished,  is 
shown  at,  a,  while  b  shows  the  back  or  convex  side  of  a  celt-like 
blade  of  harder  material  than  the  preceding  specimen.  The  edge 


Fig.  20.  Implements  from  Grave  J,  Section  A,  Bucksport,  Me.  The  upper  drawing 
and  a,  are  gouges,  b,  c.  Celts,  or  celt-like  blades,  cl,  e,f,  g.  Pendants.  It,  i.  Polished 
slate  arrowpoints.  j,  1c.  Fragments  of  a  small  slate  implement  ornamented  with 
incised  lines.  5. 

is  slightly  curved.  The  upper  portion  of  the  implement  is  rudely 
fashioned  and  was  probably  inserted  in  a  socket  of  wood  or  antler, 
or  lashed  to  a  wooden  handle  after  the  manner  of  adze  blades  or 
skin  scrapers  in  use  among  the  Eskimo.  A  side  view  of  a  thick 
blade  or  celt  with  cutting  edge  slightly  curved  is  given  at  c.  The 
implement  is  polished  for  a  short  distance  above  the  edge,  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  its  surface  showing  rough  pecking.  The  gouge  at  the 

407 


24 


PREHISTORIC  liURIAL  PEACES  IN  MAINE. 


top  of  the  illustration  is  of  the  ordinary  form  although  the  groove 
is  relatively  shorter  than  in  the  majority  of  the  specimens  found. 
The  pendants  d,  e,/and  g  are  of  different  sizes.  Various  degrees 
of  skill  are  shown  in  their  manufacture,  although 
none  are  polished.  The  three  largest  were  found 
outside  the  layer  of  ochre,  two  at  a  depth  of  six 
inches,  and  the  third  seventeen  inches  below  the 
surface.  Two  fragments  of  an  object  of  dark 
slate,  j  and  A,  are  ornamented  with  longitudinal 
incised  lines.  The  remaining  portion  of  this  ob¬ 
ject  could  not  be  found.  The  implements  h  and 
i  are  probably  arrowpoints.  They  are  made  of 
light  green  slate  and  are  polished.  When  found 
they  were  lying  side  by  side  with  their  points  toward  the  zenith. 

Another  deposit  of  ochre  at  a  depth  of  eighteen  inches  (Grave 
H  )  was  found  a  short  distance  to  the 
northeast.  Lying  upon  the  paint  was 
the  small  arrowpoint  illustrated  in  Fig. 

2 1 ,  while  near  the  ochre  were  a  few  ashes 
which  are  indicated  by  the  dotted  circle 
in  the  plan.  A  discoloration  of  the  earth 
was  noticed  near  the  ochre, probably  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  decomposition  of  the  body. 

Grave  G,  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
Section  A,  contained  two  deposits  of  red  ochre,  one  nearly  over 
the  other,  at  depths  of  eighteen  and  twenty-two  inches.  A  rude 
knife,  consisting  of  a  single  chip  struck  from  a  water-worn  quartz¬ 
ite  stone,  Fig.  22,  was  the  only  object 
found  in  the  lower  deposit  of  ochre. 
Upon  the  deposit  of  paint  nearer  the 
surface  lay  two  weathered  celts  with 
slightly  curved  cutting  edges,  a  pair  of 
firestones  changed  to  limonite,  and  the 
rude  celt-like  implement  of  natural  or 
slightly  modified  form  shown  in  Fig.  23. 
In  Grave  F,  near  the  northwest  corner 
of  Section  A,  at  a  depth  of  twenty-six  inches  were  found  the 
well-preserved  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  24.  The  larger 
implement  b  is  a  celt  of  medium  size  wdth  a  perfectly  preserved 
408 


Fig.  25.  Celt-like  implement 
(a  stone  of  natural  or  slightly 
modified  form),  Grave  G,  See- 
A,  Bucksport,  Me.  J 


Fig.  22.  Rude  knife  (a  chip 
from  a  small  quartzite  boul¬ 
der),  Grave  G,  Section  A, 
Bucksport,  Me.  J 


Fig.  21.  Chipped 
arrowpoint,  Grave 
H,  Section  A,  Bucks¬ 
port,  Me.  J 


PHEH ISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


25 


and  slightly  curved  cutting  edge.  A  shallow  groove  runs  nearly 
the  entire  length  of  the  side  shown  in  the  drawing.  The  surface 
of  the  tool  is  polished  for  a  short  distance  only  upon  either  side 
above  the  edge.  The  smaller  celt  or  blade,  a  side  view  of  which 
is  given  in  a,  has  a  cutting  edge  but  slightly  curved.  Both  of 
these  specimens  are  made  of  a  fine-grained  metamorphic  igneous 
rock.  The  chipped  knife  c  lay  beneath  the  edge  of  the  larger  im¬ 
plement  in  the  position  shown  in  the  plan.  The  pendant  d  with  a 
countersunk  depression  in  its  lower  side  was  also  in  contact  with 
the  celt. 


SECTION  B. 


But  three  small  deposits  of  ochre  were  found  in  Section  B. 
They  were  about  three  feet 
apart  and  were  probably 
placed  in  one  grave  (Grave 
S),  although  it  is  possible 
that  each  deposit  marked 
a  separate  grave.  One  of 
the  masses  of  ochre  (No. 

37),  at  a  depth  of  twenty- 
five  inches,  contained  the 
polished  slate  arrowhead  il¬ 
lustrated  in  Fig.  25.  The 
ochre  a  short  distance  to 
the  northeast,  also  at  a 
depth  of  twenty-five  inches, 
contained  a  small  gouge 
with  battered  edge.  To  the 
left  of  this  implement  lay 
a  wedge-shaped  celt  with  a 
nearly  straight  cutting  edge. 

The  upper  portion  was  rudely  made  and  tapered  to  a  blunt  point 
which  probably  litted  into  a  socket.  This  blade  was  accompanied 
by  a  small  quantity  of  ochre  at  a  depth  of  sixteen  inches.  A  short 
distance  to  the  north,  twenty-four  inches  deep  in  the  gravel,  lav  a 
pear-shaped  pendant  unaccompanied  with  paint.  A  second  pendant 
(No.  20)  was  found  north  of  the  centre  of  Section  B,  lying  beneath 
the  sod. 


fig.  24. 


A,  Bncksport,  Me. 
Chipped  knife,  d. 


Implements  from  Grave  F,  Section 
a,  b.  Celt-like  blades,  c. 
Pendant.  4 


409 


26 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


SECTION  C. 

The  only  burials  found  in  this  section  were  in  the  northwest 
corner.  Each  deposit  may  mark  a  separate  grave.  Owing  to  the 
coarseness  of  the  gravel  and  the  length  of  time  which  had  elapsed 
since  the  graves  were  made,  all  traces  of  the  line 
of  demarcation  had  disappeared  and  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  to  determine  their  outlines.  Consequently  it 
could  not  be  ascertained  whether  the  single  imple¬ 
ments  in  deposits  Nos.  35,  36  and  66  belong  to 
Grave  L  or  mark  separate  burials. 

These  deposits  of  ochre  were  thirty  inches  be¬ 
neath  the  surface, 
the  usual  form. 

There  was  also  a 
very  small  quan¬ 
tity  of  yellow 
the  remains  of  a 

No.  35  contained  a  gouge  of 
uncommon  form,  nine  inches  in 
length,  with  a  slightly  curved  cut¬ 
ting  edge  two  and  one-half  inches 
in  width.  The  implement  gradually 
narrows  to  one  and  one-half  inches 
at  the  smaller  end.  The  groove  is 
broad  and  shallow. 

No.  36  contained  a  small  flat 
pebble,  highly  polished. 

The  implements  shown  in  Fig. 

26  were  taken  from  Grave  L.  They 
consist  of  a  pendant,  a  celt  and  a  fire-making  set.  The  felsite 
hammerstone  is  shown  at  the  left.  The  nodule  at  the  right  is  the 
matrix  which  enclosed  crystals  of  iron  pyrites.  The  crystals  have 
disappeared,  only  a  little  oxide  of  iron  in  powder  remaining  in  the 
cavities . 


No.  66  contained  a  pendant  of 


Fig.  26.  Implements  from  Grave  L, 
Section  C,  Bucksport,  Me.  Pendant, 
celt-like  blade  and  fire-making  set.  J 


Fig.  25.  Polished 
slate  arrow- 
point,  Grave  S, 
No.  37,  Section  B, 
Bucksport,  Me.  \ 

oxide  of  iron, 
firestone. 


SECTION  D. 

A  large  gouge  (No.  60),  with  a  shallow  groove  and  part  of  its 
edge  broken  away,  was  fouud  just  below  the  turf  unaccompanied 
410 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


27 


by  ochre.  This  was  probably  left  upon  the  surface,  as  its  broken 
edge  would  render  it  useless  as  an  implement. 

Grave  N  contained  a  small  mass  of  ochre  twelve  inches  from  the 
surface,  and  a  pendant  of  the  usual  form  lying  at  one  side  of  the  paint. 

A  mass  of  ochre  and  the  remains  of  a  fire-making  set  were  taken 
from  Grave  R  at  a  depth  of  sixteen  inches. 

Grave  Q  contained  the  series  of  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  27. 
A  small  deposit  of  ochre  was  encountered  eighteen  inches  beneath 


Fig.  27.  Implements  from  Grave  Q,  Section  D,  Bucksport,  Me.  a,  b ,  f,  g.  Gouges. 
c,  h.  Celt-like  blades,  d,  e.  Pendants.  3 

the  surface  together  with  a  large  and  small  gouge,  a  and  b,  the  celt 
c  and  the  two  pendants  d  and  e.  The  position  of  these  implements 
is  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration,  Fig.  28.  Three  large 
stones  had  been  placed  in  the  grave  with  the  body ;  these  are  also 
shown  in  the  drawing.  After  photographing  this  deposit  and  re¬ 
moving  the  stones,  three  additional  implements  /,  g  and  h  were 
found  beneath  the  stones,  and  also  a  small  quantity  of  yellow 
oxide  of  iron,  all  that  remained  of  a  fire-making  set. 


411 


28 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACKS  IN  MAINE. 


Some  of  these  implements  bear  evidence  of  extreme  age.  Fig. 
27  a  is  a  gouge  originally  of  beautiful  form  and  finish.  The  sur¬ 
face  is  much  weathered,  the  cutting  edge  having  wholly  crumbled 
away.  That  portion  of  the  implement  near  the  edge  turns  back¬ 
ward,  an  unusual  way  of  finishing  this  part  of  the  tool.  The  small 
gouge  b  is  very  much  weathered,  the  whole  surface  of  the  imple¬ 
ment  being  badly  corroded,  the  cutting  edge  and  the  greater 
portion  of  its  lower  end  having  become  wholly  disintegrated.  The 
well-preserved  blade  c,  made  from  a  compact  stone,  is  evidently 
formed  for  insertion  in  a  socket.  The  implement  is  polished  for  a 
space  upon  either  side  above  the  straight  edge  which  is  perfectly 
preserved.  Two  well-modelled  pendants,  d  and  e,  have  unpolished 


Fig.  -is.  Grave  Q,  Section  D,  Bucksport,  Me.  (From  Photograph.) 


surfaces.  The  implement  7i  with  a  slightly  curved  edge  had  been 
placed  in  contact  with  a  firestone,  the  oxidation  of  which  caused 
the  disintegration  of  that  portion  of  the  blade  near  the  point  of 
contact.  The  gouge  shown  in  f  was  lying  in  a  small  quantity  of 
ochre.  The  edge  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  and  is  unevenly 
ground.  This  tool  shows  little  weathering.  The  badly  disintegrated 
specimen  r/  was  lyiug  near,  but  not  in  contact  with,  a  mass  of  yellow 
oxide  of  iron  in  powder,  the  remains  of  a  firestone.  This  gouge 
was  broken  in  two  pieces,  probably  by  the  weight  of  a  large  stone 
found  above  it.  It  was  probably  broken  soon  after  its  burial.  The 
dotted  lines  indicate  very  nearly  the  original  outline  of  the  gouge, 
412 


PREHISTORIC  liOKIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


29 


and  although  it  was  made  of  comparatively  soft  stone  it  exhibits  a 
remarkable  amount  of  decomposition.  This  implement  was  buried 
about  two  feet  beneath  the  surface  and  the  decomposition  was 
wholly  subsequent  to  its  burial  as  is  proved  by  the  contour  of  the 
broken  edges  of  the  two  pieces.  The  oxidation  of  the  firestones 
doubtless  assisted  in  this  destruction. 

The  six  pendants,  illustrated  in  Fig.  29,  were  lying  in  various 
positions  within  a  radius  of  three  feet  from  the  principal  deposit 
of  implements  in  Grave  Q.  The  depths  at  which  they  were  found 
varied  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches.  One  of  these  pendants,  e,  was 
accompanied  by  red  ochre  and  a  small  quantity  of  yellow  oxide  of 
iron  (Grave  O).  The  others  were  unaccompanied  by  pigment,  and 
they  may  form  parts  of  the  deposits  within  Graves  O,  Q  and  R. 

Fig.  29  a  and  b  were  between  Graves  Q  and  R.  The  latter 


Fig.  2).  Pendants  from  near  Grave  Q,  Section  D,  ilucksport,  Me.  J 


implement  (No.  47,  plan)  is  also  shown  lying  a  short  distance  to 
the  left  of  the  main  deposit  in  Fig.  28.  The  pendant  c  (No.  45, 
plan)  is  made  from  a  broken  celt  or  gouge,  the  flattened,  polished 
sides  of  the  blade  forming  the  sides  of  the  pendant.  The  two 
other  specimens,  cl  (No.  57,  plan)  and/  (No.  50,  plan),  are  rudely 
fashioned.  The  natural  surface  of  the  stone  from  which  the  latter 
was  formed  is  shown  near  the  base  upon  either  side. 

Grave  R  contained  ochre  at  a  depth  of  sixteen  inches  and  a  fel- 
site  hammerstone  once  forming  part  of  a  fire-making  set. 

SECTION  E. 

This  section  contained  but  two  burials,  Graves  M  and  P.  A 
large,  straight-edged  blade,  No.  61,  was  found  just  beneath  the 
sod.  This  was  probably  left  upon  the  surface  by  the  Indians. 


413 


30 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


A  large  gouge  with  shallow  groove  and  slightly  curved  edge  lay 
with  ochre  ten  inches  beneatli  the  surface  in  Grave  P. 

The  deposit  in  Grave  M  consisted  of  the  usual  quantity  of  red 
ochre,  a  small  amount  of  buff  powder,  probably  pigment,  a  highly 
polished  pebble,  probably  used  as  a  paint  pestle,  and  the  remains 
of  two  firestones,  one  of  which  had  changed  to  limonite.  Nothing 
remained  of  the  second  nodule  but  a  mass  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron 
in  powder. 

SECTION  ]*'. 

No  implements  were  discovered  in  Sec.  F.  Two  small  deposits 
of  ochre  occurred  just  under  the  sod,  and  a  few  ashes  were  also 
found  which  are  indicated  by  the  dotted  circle. 

In  a  few  instances  dark  discolorations  of  the  gravel,  the  result 
of  decomposing  human  remains,  were  noticed  in  connection  with 
the  graves  in  this  cemetery.  The  discolorations  were  fewer  and 
of  less  extent  than  in  the  Ellsworth  burial  place.  Ashes  were 
found  only  incidentally.  There  were  no  well-marked  ash  beds 
over  the  graves,  but  ashes  occurred  in  sufficient  quantities  to  show 
that  fires  were  lighted  over  the  graves  as  at  Ellsworth. 

I  found  no  burials  outside  the  area  included  in  the  plan,  although 
considerable  ground  was  explored.  Two  or  three  implements 
lying  near  the  surface  were  discovered  which  had  been  discarded  or 
accidentally  lost. 


BURIAL  PLACE  AT  ORLAND. 

This  ancient  cemetery  was  located  upon  a  symmetrical  gravel 
knoll  of  glacial  formation,  rising  from  the  shore  of  a  small  inlet 
or  bay  upon  the  western  side  of  Lake  Alamoosook,  near  its  outlet. 
The  summit  of  the  knoll  is  fifteen  feet  above  the  surrounding  low 
land.  Its  oval  base  has  a  maximum  diameter  of  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  feet.  The  knoll  and  the  surrounding  land  were  covered  with 
a  thick  growth  of  wood,  many  of  the  trees  being  a  foot  or  more 
in  diameter.  Three  depressions  from  twenty-seven  to  thirty-two 
inches  in  depth  and  having  diameters  at  the  surface  of  from  ten 
to  fourteen  feet  occupied  the  summit  of  the  knoll.  (See  Plate  IV, 
Fire-holes  1,  2  and  3,  and  Figs.  45,  46,  47.)  These  depressions 
were  called  “  Indian  cellars  ”  by  the  people  of  the  neighborhood. 
A  superficial  examination  of  these  depressions  resulted  in  obtaining 
414 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  No.  6,  PI.  IV. 


PLAN  OF  PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACE,  ORLAND,  MAINE. 

The  shading  indicates  red  ochre,  upon  or  within  which  most  of  the 

IMPLEMENTS  WERE  FOUND. 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


31 


d 


^auv^K.i^'  Isgg 


arf-Hnl^ifrtr-jiriaa 


Fig.  30.  Polished  pebbles  from 
Grave  L,  Section  A,  Orland,  Me.  | 


several  pieces  of  charcoal  and  some  ashes.  Being  convinced  of 
the  Indian  origin  of  these  depressions,  a  narrow  trench  was  cut 
along  the  summit  of  the  knoll  and  at  a  depth  of  fifteen  inches  were 
found  a  mass  of  red  ochre  and  two  implements.  (Plate  IV,  Grave 
J,  Section  D.) 

This  land  is  owned  by  Mr.  J.  Foster  Soper  of  Orland,  who 
not  only  granted  permission  to  ex¬ 
plore  the  burial  place  but  assisted 
in  many  ways. 

All  the  trees  upon  the  knoll  were 
removed  with  the  exception  of 
three  large  oaks  and  a  white  birch. 

The  positions  of  these  are  shown 
near  the  corners  at  the  left  on  Plate 
IV.  The  trees  were  removed  in  the  following  manner.  Each  tree 
was  cut  off  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground  and  ropes  and  double 
blocks  fastened  to  the  upper  end  of  the  stump  and  to  a  neighboring 
tree.  A  pair  of  oxen  was  hitched  to  the  end  of  the  rope  and  the 
stumps  drawn  out  without  disturbing  the  earth 
to  any  great  extent.  The  roots  of  the  trees  did 
not  penetrate  deep  enough  to  displace  any  of  the 
implements.  After  removing  the  stumps,  the 
ground  was  staked  off  in  sections  ten  feet  square, 
and  the  explorations  were  conducted  in  the  same 
manner  as  at  the  burial  places  already  described. 

The  whole  area  of  the  gravel  knoll  was  ex¬ 
plored,  but  the  graves  were  found  principally 
upon  its  summit  and  western  side.  No  traces 
of  bone  were  found  in  any  of  these  graves, 
neither  could  the  outline  of  any  grave  be  deter¬ 
mined.  Various  natural  causes,  including  the 
percolation  of  water  during  many  centuries,  had  completely  oblit¬ 
erated  all  traces  of  the  line  of  junction  between  the  disturbed  and 
undisturbed  gravel.  The  outlines  shown  in  the  vertical  sections  of 
the  large  fire  holes  could,  however,  be  traced. 


Fig.  3).  Polished 
slate  point  No.  3,  Sec¬ 
tion  B,  Burial  Place, 
Orland,  Me.  1 


SECTION  A. 

Two  deposits  of  red  ochre  were  found  in  this  section,  but  I  am 
uncertain  whether  these  indicate  the  presence  of  one  or  two  graves. 
The  larger  deposit  of  ochre,  Grave  L,  contained  the  two  polished 

415 


32 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


pebbles  of  natural  form  illustrated  in  Fig.  30.  They  lay  thirty 
inches  below  the  surface.  A  knife  chipped  from  compact  stone, 
resembling  felsite,  lay  twenty-four  inches  below  the  surface  in  the 
smaller  mass  of  pigment  (No.  10). 

SECTION  B. 

This  section  contained  but  one  grave  (K).  Upon  the  ochre, 
twenty  inches  from  the  surface,  had  been  deposited  two  very  rude 
celts  with  slightly  curved  cutting  edges,  also  a  polishing  stone  or 
paint  pestle  of  natural  form,  and  a  fire-making  set.  Nothing  re- 


Em.  32.  Implements  from  Grave  C,  Section  C,  Orland,  Me.  j 


mained  of  the  decomposed  pyrites  but  a  mass  of  yellow  powder. 
A  polished  point  (Fig.  31 )  was  found  four  inches  below  the  surface, 
just  within  the  saucer-shaped  depression  of  fire  hole  No.  1.  It  was 
made  of  a  light  green  compact  slate  similar  to  the  material  from 
which  the  polished  points  from  Ellsworth  and  Bucksport  were 
manufactured. 

SECTION  c. 

Grave  O,  twenty-nine  inches  from  the  surface,  was  eucouuter<  d 
near  the  southwestern  corner  of  this  section.  It  contained  the  usual 
red  pigment  and  a  medium- sized  celt  which  had  evidently  been  in¬ 
serted  in  a  handle.  The  edge  was  sharp  and  slightly  curved. 

-tic, 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


33 


Grave  C  contained  a  large  quantity  of  ochre  at  a  depth  of  thirty- 
six  inches.  Upon  the  pigment  were  the  remains  of  two  firestones 
and  the  finely  finished  gouges  illustrated  in  Fig.  32.  The  larger 
gouge  had  been  placed  in  contact  with  one  of  the  firestones,  the 
oxidation  of  which  caused  the  gouge  to  crumble  at  the  point  of 
contact.  The  smaller  gouge,  four  inches  in  length,  is  a  fine  ex¬ 
ample  of  ancient  stone  working. 

Two  small  masses  of  paint  lay  about  two  feet  from  these 
implements  in  a  position  which  formed  with  this  deposit  three 
points  of  a  triangle.  These  small  deposits  of  ochre  may  have  been 
a  part  of  Grave  C,  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  they  marked 
separate  graves.  One  was  twenty-four  inches  below  the  surface 


Fig.  33.  Grave  D,  Section  C,  Orland,  Me.  (From  Photj^r.ipii.) 


and  did  not  contain  any  object.  Its  companion  (No.  9),  at  a  depth 
of  twenty-two  inches,  contained  a  partially  disintegrated  firestone. 

Near  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  section  red  ochre  was  en¬ 
countered  at  a  depth  of  thirty-six  inclres  (Grave  D).  together  with 
a  gouge  ten  inches  in  length  which  lay  with  its  grooved  side  down¬ 
ward.  This  was  accompanied  by  a  very  small  gouge  two  and 
three-eighths  incites  in  length  with  a  cutting  edge  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  in  width,  two  partially  disintegrated  firestones,  a  mass  of 
yellow  oxide  of  iron  in  powder  and  three  round  water-worn  pebbles, 
one  inch,  one  and  one-half  inches,  and  one  and  three-quarters  inches 
in  diameter  respectively,  their  forms  unmodified  by  art  (Fig.  33). 
The  pebbles  were  very  symmetrical,  being  nearly  globular,  and  their 
p.  m.  papers  1  27  417 


34 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


surface  showed  no  signs  of  use  as  implements.  After  photograph¬ 
ing  and  removing  the  implements  another  crumbling  firestone  was 
found  which  is  not  shown  in  the  illustration.  A  part  of  the  cut¬ 


ting  edge  of  the  large  gouge  and  a  portion  of  its  side  was  in  a 
crumbling  condition  owing  to  its  contact  with  a  lump  of  pyrites. 
The  small  gouge  was  in  perfect  condition,  its  edge  being  appar¬ 
ently  as  sharp  as  when  placed  in 
the  giave.  This  implement  would 
be  of  little  value  unless  inserted  in 
a  handle  and  it  is  probable  that 
it  was  hafted  when  deposited. 

The  unique  stone  implement  illus¬ 
trated  in  Fig.  34  was  found  just 
below  the  sod  (No.  76,  Flan).  It 
was  roughly  fashioned  and  parts  of 
it,  notably  the  V-shaped  cavity  and 
edges,  show  marks  of  pecking. 
The  point  is  somewhat  worn.  This 
object  if  properly  hafted  would 
answer  admirably  for  a  digging  im¬ 
plement  and  may  have  been  em¬ 
ployed  in  digging  the  graves. 


Two  graves  were  found  in  this 
section.  Grave  J,  fifteen  inches 
below  the  surface,  is  the  one  already 
alluded  to  as  discovered  while  sink¬ 
ing  the  preliminary  trench.  This 
contained  a  medium-sized  gouge 
and  a  rude  pendant  of  the  typical 
form  embedded  in  red  ochre. 
Grave  X,  situated  a  few  feet  farther 
north,  contained  a  mass  of  red  ochre  ten  inches  below  the  surface. 
At  one  side  of  the  pigment  and  at  the  same  level  lay  the  fine  ex¬ 
ample  of  ancient  stone  art  of  which  Fig.  35  is  a  drawing. 

One  or  more  firestones  of  pyrites  bad  been  placed  in  the  grave 
in  contact  with  the  implement.  These  had  become  entirely  disin¬ 
tegrated,  nothing  remaining  but  a  small  quantity  of  yellow  pow¬ 
der  adhering  to  the  gouge.  Within  the  limits  of  fire  hole  Xo.  2,  a 


Fig.  31.  Implement,  No.  76,  from 
just  beneath  sod,  Section  C,  Burial 
Place,  Orland,  Me.  j 


SECTION  D. 


418 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


35 


pendant  (No.  22)  was  unearthed  thirty-six  inches  below  the  sur¬ 
face.  No  ochre  accompanied  the  implement. 


SECTION  E. 


Indications  of  but  one  burial  were  found  in  this  section.  This 
grave  (M)  contained  only  a  mass  of  ochre  twenty 
inches  from  the  surface. 

section  v. 

Grave  P  contained  only  red  ochre,  at  a  depth  of 
twenty-one  inches. 

In  Grave  A  a  mass  of  red  ochre  was  discovered 
thirty- two  inches  beneath  the  surface.  Upon  the 
paint  lay  the  chipped  knife  of  black  flint  illustrated 
in  Fig.  36.  The  angles  formed  by  chipping  are 
worn  and  polished,  probably  by  the  long  use  of 
this  tool  as  a  cutting  implement.  Its  companion,  a 
small  gouge,  is  also  illustrated  in  Fig.  36.  This 
was  found  just  outside  the  ochre.  The  cutting 
edge  is  less  than  a  half  inch  in  width  and  is  per¬ 
fectly  preserved. 

The  contents  of  Grave  B,  with  the  exception  of 
two  pendants  (Nos.  30  and 
31),  are  shown  in  Fig.  37.  Section  D.Oriand, 
This  drawing  was  made  from  a  Me'  5 
photograph  and  shows  the  exact  positions  in 
which  the  implements  were  found.  The  two 
pendants  (Nos.  30  and  31,  Plate  IV)  lay  at 
the  same  depth  as  the  main  deposit  (27  inches) 
and  evidently  belong  to  the  same  grave.  They 
were  removed  before  the  main  deposit  was 
uncovered,  hence  they  do  not  appear  in  Fig. 
37.  The  implements  shown  in  this  illustration 
consist  of  two  gouges,  two  celts  and  a  pendant 
lying  upon  a  small  quantity  of  red  ochre. 

The  implement  lying  nearest  the  wall  of 
earth  is  a  well-formed  gouge  with  its  grooved  side  downward. 
Near  the  centre  of  the  deposit  was  another  gouge  with  a  narrow 
cutting  edge.  A  celt  with  a  slightly  curved  cutting  edge  lay  near 


from  Giave  A,  Section 
F,  Oi  land,  Me.  J 


Fig.  35.  Gouge, 
from  Grave  N, 


419 


36 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


this  gouge  and  to  the  right  was  another  celt  of  similar  form.  The 
pendant  at  the  left  is  small  and  roughly  made. 

SECTION  G. 

Grave  It,  twenty  inches  in  depth,  contained  ochre  and  a  disin¬ 
tegrated  firestone.  A  short  distance  from  this  deposit  were  two 
other  masses  of  ochre,  Nos.  39  and  40,  one  at  a  depth  of  twelve 
inches,  and  the  other  twenty  inches  below  the  surface.  Above  the 
former  deposit  of  red  ochre,  but  not  in  contact  with  it.  was  a  celt 
with  battered  surface  and  broken  edge.  The  latter  deposit  of  ochre 


contained  a  pendant  and  a  little  oxide  of  iron,  the  remains  of  a 
firestone. 

A  felsite  hammerstoue  once  forming  a  part  of  a  fire-making  set, 
a  celt,  and  the  disintegrated  remains  of  a  nodule  of  pyrites,  were 
found  upon  red  ochre  at  a  depth  of  twenty-nine  inches  in  Grave  U. 
About  three  feet  to  the  southeast  of  this  grave  lay  a  gouge  with 
shallow  groove,  a  small  mass  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron  and  a  deposit 
of  red  ochre  (No.  43). 

Grave  E.  In  the  northwest  corner  of  this  section  and  outside 
the  limits  of  fire  hole  No.  3,  at  a  depth  of  thirty-two  inches,  lay 
the  seven  implements  illustrated  in  Fig.  38,  together  with  the  usual 
420 


Fig  37.  Grave  B,  Section  F,  Orland,  Me.  (From  Photograph.) 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


37 


quantity  of  red  ochre.  The  gouge  a,  with  a  portion  of  its  edge 
broken  away,  lay  farthest  to  the  west  with  its  grooved  side  down¬ 
ward  and  its  cutting  edge  outward.  A  similar  but  shorter  gouge, 
b ,  was  the  most  easterly  in  the  grave.  This  was  also  lying  with 
the  grooved  side  downward  and  its  cutting  edge  outward.  The  celts 
c  and  d  have  nearly  straight  cutting  edges.  They  were  lying  near 
the  middle  of  the  grave  with  their  upper  ends  near  together  and 
their  edges  outward.  The  rude  implement  e,  which  somewlnit  resem- 


Fig.  88.  Implements  from  Grave  E,  Section  G,  Orland,  Me.  a,  b.  Gouges,  c,  d. 
Celt-like  blades,  e.  Pebble  with  battered  edge.  /.  Pebble  with  polished  surface 
used  as  an  implement,  y.  Chipped  knife.  5 


bles  a  primitive  chopping  knife,  has  a  greater  portion  of  its  surface 
polished,  one  edge  being  battered  or  rudely  chipped.  The  object 
represented  at  f  is  probably  a  polishing  stone  of  natural  form,  about 
seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  width  with  an  average  thickness  of 
three-eighths  of  an  inch.  These  two  implements  lay  farthest  to  the 
south.  The  symmetrical  knife  g  is  of  dark  flint,  and  lay  farthest 
north  with  its  point  inward. 


421 


38 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


Near  the  northeastern  corner  of  Section  G,  at  a  depth  of  eigh¬ 
teen  inches  was  unearthed  a  mass  of  ochre  (Grave  Q).  No  imple¬ 
ments  were  found  in  this  grave. 

SECTION  H. 

Near  the  centre  of  this  section  and  fifteen  inches  below  the  sur¬ 
face  was  a  deposit  of  red  ochre  containing  a  pendant,  a  well-formed 
gouge  and  a  small  mass  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron, 
the  remains  of  a  firestone  (Grave  F).  A  short 
distance  to  the  west  and  thirteen  inches  deep  in  the 
gravel  another  deposit  of  ochre  was  encountered 
(Grave  S),  containing  a  well-preserved  celt  with  a 
straight  cutting  edge.  A  pendant  (No.  78)  lay 
near  the  surface  of  the  grave  in  ashes.  The  ochre 
in  Grave  T  contained  a  crumbling  fire-making  set 
thirty  inches  below  the  surface. 

In  the  northeastern  corner  of  this  section  was  Grave  H.  The 
ochre  which  marked  this  burial  was  seventeen  inches  below  the 


Fig.  :j.9.  Chipped 
A  v  rowpoi  n  t, 
Grave  H,  Section 
H,  Orland.Me.  j 


Fig.  40.  Grave  G,  Section  H,  Orland,  Me.  (From  Photograph.) 

surface  and  of  unusual  brilliancy.  The  arrowpoint,  Fig.  39,  lay 
with  its  point  near  the  centre  of  the  mass  of  pigment.  Two  par¬ 
tially  disintegrated  firestones  occupied  a  position  just  south  of  the 
arrowhead. 

An  interesting  series  of  implements  and  the  usual  quantity  of 
red  ochre  were  obtained  from  Grave  G.  Fig.  40  shows  seven  of 


422 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


39 


these  implements,  just  as  they  were  uncovered.  Four  of  them 
lay  together,  and  are  shown  near  the  centre  of  the  illustration. 
The  upper  one  at  the  left  is  a  thin  celt  or  celt-like  blade  with  a 
straight  cutting  edge.  The  upper  portion  of  this  implement  was 
undoubtedly  inserted  in  a  socket.  To  the  right,  just  below  the 
edge  of  this  tool,  lay  another  celt  with  a  slightly  curved  cutting 
edge.  Below  the  former  implement  was  a  gouge  upon  its  side,  in 
contact  with  a  crumbling  firestone.  A  finely 
formed  celt  lay  a  short  distance  to  the  right  with 
its  cutting  edge  toward  the  main  deposit.  At  the 
left  another  and  thicker  celt  occupied  a  corres¬ 
ponding  position.  Its  edge  is  slightly  curved,  the 
concave  side  being  downward.  By  the  side  of  this 
implement  was  the  small  arrowpoint  of  slate,  illus¬ 
trated  in  Fig.  41. 

After  removing  these  implements,  further  exca¬ 
vations  revealed  the  finely  formed  gouge  and  the  pendant  shown  in 
Figs.  42  and  43.  These  were  a  few  inches  below  the  main  deposit. 
The  gouge  lay  with  its  grooved  side  downward.  Its  length  is  ten 
and  one-half  inches.  Its  width  at  the  cutting  edge  is  one  and  one- 
half  inches,  and  it  gradually  tapers  to  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  at 


Pig.  41.  Arrow- 
point  of  polished 
slate,  Grave  G, 
Section  H,  Or- 
land,  Me.  J 


Fig.  42.  Gouge,  Grave  G,  Section  H,  Orland,  Me.  J 


the  smaller  end.  Its  greatest  thickness  is  one  and  one-fourth  inches. 
The  pendant  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  fashioned  from  a 
broken  celt.  The  relative  position  of  these  implements  is  shown 
in  the  plan. 

SECTION  i. 

But  two  graves  were  found  in  this  section.  Grave  V  contained 
red  ochre,  the  remains  of  a  firestone,  a  rude  celt  and  a  gouge  made 
from  a  long,  thin  pebble,  the  only  modification  in  the  shape  of  the 
pebble  being  the  grinding  necessary  to  form  the  curved  cutting 
edge  of  the  tool. 

Grave  W  contained  red  ochre  twenty  inches  from  the  surface,  a 
partially  disintegrated  firestone  and  a  small  mass  of  oxide  of  iron, 

423 


40 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


probably  the  remains  of  a  second  firestone.  A  small  celt,  No.  75, 
lay  within  the  sod  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  section. 


SECTION  J. 

The  largest  number  of  implements  obtained  from  one  deposit 
in  this  cemetery  were  found  in  Grave  I,  at  a  depth  of  twenty-one 
inches,  lying  in  red  ochre.  These  ten  imple¬ 
ments  are  shown  in  position  in  Fig.  44.  A  large 
stone  had  evidently  been  placed  with  the  body 
in  this  grave.  One  of  the  tools,  a  rude  celt  or 
celt-like  blade,  lay  with  its  edge  against  the 
stone.  Two  similar  implements  with  slightly 
curved  edges  and  a  gouge  having  a  narrow  edge 
lay  near  together,  a  short  distance  from  the  stone, 
each  with  its  inner  or  concave  side  uppermost. 
To  the  right,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  a  celt 
with  curved  cutting  edge  lay  upon  its  side.  To  the  left,  in  a  corre¬ 
sponding  position,  was  a  similar  implement  with  its  edge  near  a 


Fig.  43.  Pendant, 
Grave  G,  Section  II, 
Oriand,  Me.  $ 


Fig.  44.  Grave  I,  Section  J,  Oriand,  Me.  (From  Photograph.) 


pair  of  firestones  which  are  changed  to  limonite.  A  small  frag¬ 
ment  of  matting,  evidently  woven  of  rushes,  and  a  piece  of  what 
appears  to  be  birch  bark  are  preserved  by  contact  with  the  iron. 
424 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


41 


A  pendant,  with  its  grooved  end  lying  against  the  side  of  another 
celt,  occupied  an  intermediate  position,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 

The  outer  limits  of  the  three  depressions  along  the  summit  of 
the  knoll,  which  first  drew  my  attention  to  this  burial  place,  are 


e '  F' 


Fig.  45.  Vertical  cross  section  E’,  K',  through  Fire  Hole  1,  Orland,  Me.  A.  Top 
soil.  B.  Charcoal  and  ashes.  C.  Disturbed  gravel  within  lire  hole.  D.  Discolored 
earth  containing  a  little  charcoal  and  red  ochre.  E.  Undisturbed  gravel. 


shown  by  the  circles  in  Plate  IV.  The  depression  of  fire  hole  No.  1, 
of  which  but  a  portion  is  shown  upon  the  plan,  measured  thirteen 
feet  from  edge  to  edge.  Its  depth  was  thirty  two  inches.  A  ver¬ 
tical  cross  section  E'-F',  Fig.  45,  shows  it  to  have  been  originally 


Fig.  46.  Vertical  cross  section  C',  D',  through  Fire  Hole  2,  Orland,  Me.  A.  Top  soil. 
B.  Charcoal  and  ashes.  C.  Disturbed  gravel.  D.  Discolored  earth  containing  a  little 
charcoal  and  red  ochre.  E.  Undisturbed  gravel. 


dug  to  a  depth  of  fifty-eight  inches.  At  the  bottom  of  the  hole  as 
originally  dug,  lay  a  thin  mass  of  discolored  earth,  a  few  bits  of 
charcoal  and  a  small  quantity  of  red  ochre.  Charcoal  and  ashes 
occurred  below  the  surface  near  the  centre  of  the  depression. 

Fire  hole  No.  2  measured  ten  feet  from  edge  to  edge.  The 

425 


42 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


depression  was  twenty-seven  inches  in  depth,  and  the  vertical  cross 
section  C'-D',  Fig.  46,  shows  it  to  have  been  originally  dug  to  a 
depth  of  sixty  inches.  A  large  mass  of  discolored  earth,  some 
charcoal,  and  a  small  quantity  of  red  ochre  lay  at  a  depth  of  five 
feet.  Charcoal  and  ashes  were  found  below  the  surface  near  the 
centre  of  the  pit. 

Fire  hole  No.  3  was  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  central  de¬ 
pression  of  twenty-eight  inches.  It  had  original Iv  been  dug  to  a 
depth  of  fift}T-nine  inches.  A  cross  section,  A' — IV,  Fig.  47. 
shows  the  same  general  conditions  to  be  present  as  in  Nos.  1  and 
2.  No  ochre  was  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  original  excavation. 
There  were  several  graves  within  the  limits  of  this  fire  hole,  as  will 


Fig.  47.  Vertical  cross  section  A B’,  through  Fire  Hole  3,  Orland,  Me.  A.  Top  soil 
B.  Charcoal  and  ashes.  O.  Discolored  earth.  E.  Undisturbed  gravel. 


be  seen  by  referring  to  the  plan.  These  burials  may  have  been 
subsequent  to  the  digging  of  the  hole ;  but,  as  the  line  of  junction 
between  the  disturbed  gravel  within  the  fire  hole  and  the  undisturbed 
earth  without  could  only  be  traced  in  a  few  places,  it  could  not  be 
ascertained  whether  the  graves  marked  by  the  ochre  and  imple¬ 
ments  within  the  limits  of  the  depression  were  a  part  of  the  great 
fire  hole,  or  of  earlier  or  later  date.  Is  it  not  probable  that  these 
great  depressions  were  communal  graves  similar  to  the  one  at  Klls- 
worth  (see  Fig.  8),  and  that  all  traces  of  the  bodies  placed  therein 
had  disappeared? 

Charcoal,  ashes  and  discolored  earth  were  found  to  a  limited 
extent  in  the  gravel  throughout  this  burial  place. 


426 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


43 


THE  IMPLEMENTS  FROM  THE  GRAVES. 

Iu  the  following  table,  the  broad  classification  of  the  more  com¬ 
mon  implements  taken  from  the  three  burial  places  shows  the 
number  of  objects  of  the  same  type  from  each  cemetery,  and  the 
relative  numbers  of  the  various  forms  from  a  given  locality.  Only 
the  implements  taken  by  the  author  from  the  graves  are  recorded. 


H 

ail  > 

3 

H 

.  C 

X  2h 

5 

D 

a 

£ 

< 

hJ 

o 

◄ 

H 

0 

H 

r  Chipped .  . 

l 

1 

2 

1  Polished . 

3 

1 

4 

i 

1 

2 

Chipped  Knives . 

2 

8 

3 

13 

Ceit-like  Blades,  with  straight,  or  nearly  straight,  cutting  edges,  the 

smaller  ends  apparently  fashioned  for  insertion  in  sockets  of 

wood  or  antler.  Type,  Fig.  48 . 

3 

7 

11 

21 

Celts,  or  Celt-like  Blades  of  symmetrical  form  with  curved  cutting 

edges,  probably  once  lashed  to  handles  and  not  inserted  in  sock- 

ets.  Tvpe,  Fig.  49 . 

12 

11 

23 

Ci  ooved  Gouges  of  the  same  general  outline  as  the  celts  with  curved 

edges,  and  probably  attached  to  hafts  in  a  similar  manner. 

Type,  Fig.  50 . 

12 

17 

29 

10 

21 

10 

41 

Firestones,  originally  nodules  of  iron  pyrites.  These  are  in  vari- 

ous  stages  of  decomposition . 

4 

7 

14 

25 

Hammerstones,  which  accompanied  nodules  of  iron  pyrites . 

1 

3 

1 

5 

Pebbles  of  natural,  or  but  slightly  modified  forms,  used  as  polishing 

stones,  paint  pestles  and  for  other  purposes . 

1 

4 

8 

13 

Totals . 

2-> 

78 

78 

178 

The  great  majority  of  these  objects  were  evidently  for  use  in 
the  ordinary  domestic  affairs  of  every-day  life.  The  comparative 
rarity  of  weapons  or  parts  of  weapons  is  noticeable.  Only  the 
arrow  points  and  polished  spearpoints  can  with  any  degree  of  cer¬ 
tainty  be  so  classed. 


427 


44 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


ARROWPOINTS. 

The  majority  of  the  arrowpoints  are  of  polished  slate.  These 
are  illustrated  in  Figs.  20  h,  i,  25  and  41.  The  two  chipped  spec¬ 
imens  are  shown  in  Figs.  21  and  39. 

SPEARPOINTS. 

The  only  specimen  found  in  situ  which  can  without  doubt  be 
classed  as  a  spearpoint  is  shown  in  Fig.  13.  Its  position  in  the 
grave  was  such  as  to  indicate  its  attachment  to  a  long  wooden 
shaft  (see  Fig.  12).  Fig.  31  seems  large  for  an  arrowpoint  and 
in  the  table  is  classed  as  a  spearpoint. 

The  spearpoints  illustrated  in  Fig.  16  were  taken  from  graves 
previous  to  the  explorations  conducted  by  the  author. 

CHIPPED  KNIVES. 

/ 

Several  of  the  knives  of  the  type  illustrated  in  Figs.  4,  14  g, 
17,  18  c,  d,  e ,  24  c,  36  and  38  r/,  are  worn  and  polished  by  long 
use.  The  majority  are  chipped  from  felsite.  A  few  are  of  flint 
or  slate.  l'he  position  in  which  some  of  the  specimens  were  found 
renders  their  employment  as  projectile  points  improbable,  while  their 
worn  surfaces  indicate  their  use  as  cutting  and  scraping  imple¬ 
ments.  The  not  uncommon  occurrence  of  chipped  knives  of  this 
form,  hafted  in  short  wooden  handles,  from  the  cliff  dwellings  of 
the  southwest  and  from  burial  places  in  various  parts  of  America, 
indicates  an  almost  universal  use  of  knives  of  this  type  by  the 
prehistoric  peoples  of  this  continent.  It,  is  not  inferred  that  similar 
objects  were  not  also  used  as  projectile  points,  for  it  is  wellknowu 
that  spears  with  chipped  stone  heads  have  been  in  use  among 
primitive  tribes  within  historic  times. 

CELT-LIKE  BLADES  WITH  CUTTING  EDGES  STRAIGHT  OR  NEARLY  SO. 

These  implements,  which  are  from  three  inches  to  nine  and  one- 
half  inches  in  length,  have  straight  or  slightly  curved  cutting  edges. 
The  upper  portion  of  the  tool  usually  tapers  to  a  blunt  point  and 
is  frequently  rudely  finished.  They  were  doubtless  inserted  in 
sockets  of  wood  or  antler  or  lashed  to  handles  after  the  manner 
of  the  adze  blades  and  ‘‘skin  scrapers”  in  common  use  among 


428 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


45 


the  Eskimo  and  other  primitive  peoples,  and  to  which  they  bear  a 
close  resemblance.  Type  specimen  Fig.  48.  Other  examples  are 
illustrated  in  Figs.  14  a,  5,  c;  20  b  ;  27  c. 

Although  of  the  same  general  form,  I  have  not  included  in  this 
type  the  perforated  implement  shown  in  Fig.  18  b.  Unlike  the 
majority  of  blades  this  tool  is  polished  over  its  entire  surface. 
The  perforation  is  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  attaching  a  cord, 
and  the  implement  may  have  been  used  without  a  haft. 


c 


Fig.  48.  Celt-like  blade. 
Type  specimen,  a.  Front 
view.  6.  Side  view.  c.  End 
view  showing  straight  cut¬ 
ting  edge,  i 


o 


Fig.  49,  Celt,  Type  specimen- 
a.  Front  view.  b.  Side  view.  c. 
End  view  showing  curved  cutting- 
edge.  i 


CELTS  OR  CELT-LIKE  BLADES  WITH  CUTTING  EDGES  CURVED. 

These  implements  are  of  symmetrical  form  with  well  finished 
surfaces  and  curved  cutting  edges.  They  are  of  the  same  general 
form  as  the  gouges,  the  principal  difference  being  the  absence  of 
the  groove.  They  vary  in  length  from  four  inches  to  eight  inches 
and  were  probably  lashed  to  hafts  and  not  inserted  in  sockets. 
Type  specimen  Fig.  49.  Numerous  other  examples  of  this  form 


42!) 


4(> 


PREHISTORIC  HUHIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


together  with  the  following  types  are  represented  in  the  foregoing 
drawings. 

GROOVED  GOUGES. 

The  so-called  gouges  vary  from  two  and  three-eighths  inches  to 
ten  inches  in  length,  with  cutting  edges  from  one-half  inch  to  two 
and  one-half  inches  in  width.  They  are  of  symmetrical  form  and 
are  carefully  finished.  A  few  of  the  speci¬ 
mens  are  polished  over  a  greater  portion 
of  their  surface,  but  the  majority  are  pol¬ 
ished  only  for  a  short  distance  above  the 
edge  upon  either  side.  Type  specimen 
Fig.  50.  While  it  is  possible  that  these 
implements  were  used  without  hafts,  it 
seems  more  probable  that  they  were  lashed 
to  handles  and  used  after  the  manner  of 
adzes  and  skin  scrapers.  The  smaller 
specimens,  one  of  which  is  represented  at 
the  right  in  Fig.  32,  would  be  of  little  use 
without  a  handle.  Gouges  and  celts  are 
frequently  found  in  New  England,  having 
either  ridges  or  a  groove  upon  the  back  or 
convex  side  evidently  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  the  lashings  in  place. 

PEAR-SHAPED  PENDANTS. 


Many  of  these  puzzling  objects  were 
taken  from  the  graves.  In  several  in¬ 
stances  a  pendant  was,  with  the  exception 
of  the  red  ochre,  the  only  imperishable 
object  deposited  with  the  dead.  Other 
graves  contained  two,  three  and  sometimes 
four  or  more  (see  Plate  II,  also  Figs.  14 
d,  e  f;  20  cl,  e,  f,  g;  27  d,  e ,  29  and  other  illustrations).  Their 
positions  in  the  graves  can  be  studied  by  referring  to  the  Plates. 
These  pendants  occurred  outside  the  deposits  of  ochre  more  com¬ 
monly  than  the  other  objects  and  frequently  at  varying  depths  in 
the  same  grave  This  was  particularly  noticeable  at  Bucksport. 
The  various  theories  regarding  the  probable  use  of  these  objects 
need  not  be  commented  upon  here.  Much  has  been  written  upon 
the  subject.  The  theory  generally  accepted  is  that  they  were  used 


Fig.  50.  Gouge.  Type  spec¬ 
imen.  a.  Front  view  show¬ 
ing  groove.  6.  Side  view.  c. 
End  view  showing  curved 
cutting  edge,  j 


430 


PREHISTORIC  BL’KIAE  PEACES  IN  MAINE. 


47 


as  charm  stones.  Similar  pendants  are  said  to  be  still  employed 
as  charms  by  the  modern  California  Indians.  The  advocates  of 
this  theory  forget  that  ancient  stone  implements  in  possession  of 
Indians  supplied  with  tools  and  utensils  of  European  manufacture 
are  commonly  regarded  as  sacred  objects.  As  an  illustration  of 
this  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  many  of 
the  grooved  stone  axes  and  mauls  in  use  up  to  1870  by  the  Pueblo 
Indians  are  now  considered  sacred,  and  are  deposited  upon  the 
altars  in  sacred  ceremonies.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  use  of 
these  pendants  it  is  certain  that  they  occupied  a  prominent  place 
among  the  implements  and  utensils  used  in  the  practical  every-day 
life  of  the  Indians. 

FIRESTONES. 

Nodules  of  iron  pyrites  of  different  degrees  of  purity  which 
have  mostly  changed  to  limonite  or  powdered  oxide  of  iron.  These 
objects  were  once  used  in  pairs  or  with  hammers! ones  of  felsite 
for  kindling  fires. 

The  collection  comprises  a  line  series  of  these  ancient  fire  pro¬ 
ducers  in  various  stages  of  decomposition.  The  best  preserved 
examples  are  illustrated  in  Fig.  18  /,  and  in  the  lower  right  hand 
corners  of  Figs.  19  and  26.  The  two  latter  specimens  are  shown 
with  the  felsite  hammerstones  found  with  them.  In  a  few  graves 
the  hammerstone  was  accompanied  by  a  small  quantity  of  yellow 
oxide  of  iron  in  powder,  the  remains  of  a  lump  of  iron  pyrites 
which  have  become  wholly  disintegrated. 

Other  graves  contained  one  or  two  nodules  of  what  had  been 
impure  iron  pyrites.  The  bisulphurate  of  iron  having  decomposed 
the  impurities  remained  in  the  form  of  a  cinder-like  crust. 

A  few  of  these  implements  wmre  originally  of  quartz  or  other 
varieties  of  stone  containing  the  pyrites  in  disseminated  crystals, 
which  have  disappeared  with  the  exception  of  small  quantities  of 
yellow  powder,  leaving  variously  shaped  cavities  in  the  nodule. 
See  Fig.  26,  lower  right  hand  drawing. 

Occasionally  nothing  remained  of  either  nodule  except  slight 
traces  of  the  yellow  oxide.  Several  single  crumbling  nodules 
were  taken  from  the  graves,  but  it  is  probable  that  each  of  these 
was  originally  accompanied  by  a  nearly  pure  lump  of  pyrites  all 
traces  of  which  had  disappeared. 

From  the  accounts  of  various  methods  of  primitive  fire-making 
among  historic  tribes  of  America,  we  learn  that  fire-making  sets 

431 


48 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


consisting  of  nodules  of  iron  pyrites,  or  pyrites  and  Hint  were  used 
by  the  Eskimo  and  the  northern  rauging  tribes  of  the  Athapascan 
stock,  some  of  the  Algonquins  and  the  Beothuks  of  Newfound¬ 
land. 

Among  the  Eskimo  the  use  of  pyrites  as  a  means  of  fire-making 
ranged  “  from  north  of  Dixon’s  Sound  to  Labrador,  the  following 
localities  being  represented,  viz. :  Slikine  River,  Sitka,  Aleutian 
Islands,  Kotzebue  Sound,  Point  Barrow,  the  Mackenzie  River  dis¬ 
trict,  at  Fort  Simpson,  and  probably  Hershel  Island,  Pelly  Bay, 
Melville  Peninsula,  Smith  Sound,  and  Labrador.”1 

Mr.  Lucien  M.  Turner  in  a  manuscript  account  of  the  Aleutian 
Islanders  says : 

“They  use  the  four  part  drill  but  they  also  use  pyrites.  A  stone 
containing  quartz  and  pyrites  is  struck  against  another  similar 
one,  or  a  beach  pebble,  into  a  mass  of  sea  bird  down  sprinkled  with 
powdered  sulphur.”2 

In  his  account  of  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  Murdoch  informs  us 
that  “  they  used  to  get  ‘  great  fire  ’  by  striking  together  two  pieces 
of  iron  pyrites.  Dr.  Simpson  speaks  of  two  lumps  of  iron  pyrites 
being  used  for  striking  fire,  but  he  does  not  make  it  clear  whether 
he  saw  this  at  Point  Barrow  or  only  at  Kotzebue  Sound.  Iron 
pyrites  appears  to  have  been  used  quite  generally  among  the 
Eskimo.  Bessels  saw  it  used  with  quartz  at  Smith  Sound,  with 
willow  catkins  for  tinder  and  Lyon  mentions  the  use  of  two  pieces 
of  the  same  material  with  the  same  kind  of  tinder,  at  Iglulik.”3 

Dr.  Franz  Boas,  writing  of  the  Central  Eskimo,  tells  us  that 
“  wherever  Hint  and  pyrite  are  to  be  had  these  are  used  for  striking 
fire.”'1 

The  Eskimo  of  Melville  Peninsula,  according  to  Parry,  “  use  two 
lumps  of  common  pyrites,  from  which  sparks  are  struck  into  a 
little  leathern  case  .  .  .  containing  moss  well  dried  and  rubbed 
between  the  hands.  If  this  tinder  does  not  readily  catch,  a  small 
quantity  of  the  white  floss  of  the  seed  of  the  ground  willow  is  laid 
above  the  moss.  As  soon  as  a  spark  has  caught  it  is  gently  blown 
till  the  fire  has  spread  an  inch  around,  when  the  pointed  end  of  a 


1  Hough.  Fire-making  Apparatus  in  the  I".  S.  National  Museum.  Smithsonian  Re¬ 
port,  U.  S.  N.  Museum,  1S88,  p.57'2. 

2  Quoted  by  Hough.  Ibid.  p.  576. 

3  Murdoch.  The  Point  Barrow  Eskimo.  Ninth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
p. 291. 

4  Boas.  The  Central  E.skimo.  Sixth  Annual  Report  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  526. 
432 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


49 


piece  of  wick  being  applied,  it  soon  bursts  into  a  flame,  the  whole 
process  having  occupied  perhaps  two  or  three  minutes.”1 

“The  Canadian  and  Algouquius  strike  two  pieces  of  pyrites 
(pierres  de  mine)  together  over  an  eagle’s  thigh,  dried  with  its  down, 
and  serving  instead  of  tinder.”2 

Roger  Williams  tells  us  in  his  account  of  the  construction  of  a 
wooden  canoe  or  dug-out  that  he  has  “  seene  a  Native  goe  into  the 
woods  with  his  hatchet  carrying  onelya  Basket  of  Corue  with  him, 
and  stones  to  strike  fire  when  he  had  felled  his  tree.”3 

The  extinct  Beothuks  of  Newfoundland  also  used  pyrites  for 
tire-making.4 

A  comparison  of  the  stones  used  for  fire-making  by  historic 
tribes,  as  above  quoted,  with  those  taken  from  the  graves  shows 
the  same  variations  as  to  material,  viz.  :  pyrites  and  a  flint  ham- 
merstone,  nodules  of  pyritiferous  quartz,  or  nodules  of  pyrites. 

PEBBLES. 

Probably  used  as  polishing  stones,  paint  pestles  and  for  other 
purposes.  These  together  with  the  few  objects  of  uncommon  form 
are  described  in  the  foregoing  pages. 

RED  OCHRE. 

The  use  of  this  pigment  seems  to  have  been  universal  among 
the  Indians  whose  remains  are  found  in  these  cemeteries.  It  varies 
in  color  from  pink  to  deep  red.  In  some  of  the  graves  only  a 
small  quantity  had  been  deposited  which  the  percolating  water  had 
mixed  with  the  surrounding  sand  and  gravel.  In  other  graves  a 
quart  or  more  of  pure  dark  red  ochre  was  found  with  various 
implements  lying  upon  it  or  buried  within  it.  Plate  II  is  a  photo¬ 
graphic  illustration  of  a  grave  containing  a  large  mass  of  the  ochre 
and  a  pearshaped  pendant.  I  know  of  no  beds  of  this  pigment  in 
eastern  New  Eugland,  although  they  may  occur  in  the  iron  region 
of  central  Maine.  The  ochre  may  have  been  brought  from  the 
British  Provinces.  The  Beothuks  of  Newfoundland  obtained  much 
of  their  red  paint  from  Red  Ochre  Island,  Conception  Bay.  The 
eastern  British  Provinces,  including  Newfoundland,  contain  large 

1  Parry.  Second  Voyage,  London,  1824,  p.  504. 

2  Hough.  Fire-making  Apparatus  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.  Smithsonian  Re¬ 
port,  U.  S.  N.  Museum,  1S88,  p.  572  (Lafitau.  Moeurs  des  Sauvages  Ameriquains). 

3  Roger  Williams.  A  Key  into  the  Language  of  America,  London,  1643. 

4  Journal,  Anthrop.  Inst.  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  v.  5,  p.  225. 

P. M.  PAPERS  1  28 


433 


50 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


deposits  of  iron  and  beds  of  ochre  of  various  shades,  and  it  would 
not  be  surprising  if  in  that  region  there  were  many  localities  where 
red  ochre  was  mined  in  prehistoric  times. 


ESKIMO,  ALGONQUIN  OR  BEOTHUKS. 

The  great  age  of  the  sixty  or  more  graves  described  in  the  fore¬ 
going  pages  is  evident.  The  complete  decay  and  disappearance  of 
the  skeletons  (with  the  exception  of  the  fragments  shown  in  Fig. 
11  and  small  quantities  of  bone  dust  in  a  few  graves),  the  disin¬ 
tegration  of  the  firestones  of  pyrites,  and  the  decomposition  which 
many  of  the  implements  have  undergone  when  buried  many  inches 
beneath  the  surface,  prove  the  burials  to  be  among  the  oldest  yet 
discovered  upon  this  continent. 

If  the  generally  accepted  theory  of  the  comparatively  recent 
eastward  migration  of  the  Algonquin  tribes  which  inhabited  New 
England  at  the  advent  of  Europeans  be  correct,  the  burials  in  these 
old  cemeteries  cannot  be  attributed  to  that  people. 

The  archaeological  evidences  of  the  occupation  of  New  England 
by  the  Algonquins  have,  however,  been  but  superficially  examined. 
Most  of  the  shell  heaps  are  apparently  of  Algonquin  origin. 
Those  examined  by  the  author  cannot  with  our  present  knowledge 
be  attributed  to  any  other  people.  Even  the  great  oyster  shell 
heaps  of  Damariscotta  contain  implements  of  stone  and  bone  and 
fragments  of  pottery  of  types  in  common  use  among  the  Algou- 
quins  when  first  known  to  Europeans.  When  the  vast  quantity  of 
material  collected  by  Professor  Putnam  from  these  heaps  and  from 
many  others  on  the  New  England  coast  has  been  systematically 
studied  it  will  doubtless  throw  much  light  upon  the  tide-water  peo¬ 
ple  or  peoples  of  Maine. 

The  few  graves  containing  skeletons  which  have  been  discovered 
along  the  New  England  coast  are  doubtless  those  of  Algonquins. 
The  pipes,  pottery,  beads  and  implements  found  therein  are  of 
types  common  among  this  people  within  historic  times.  The  theory 
that  the  Skraelings  of  the  Norsemen  were  New  England  Eskimo 
has  as  yet  no  archaeological  confirmation.  It  is  true  that  many 
bone  arrow,  spear,  and  harpoon  points  from  the  shell  heaps  are 
very  similar  to  those  used  by  the  Eskimo,  but  we  learn  from 
Hosier's  Narrative  of  Waymouth's  Voyage  to  the  Coast  of  Maine 
in  1605,  that  the  Indians  near  Monhegau  had  [arrows] 


434 


PRKH ISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


51 


“  Big  and  long  with  three  feathers  tied  on,  and  nocked  very  artificially, 
headed  with  the  long  shank  bone  of  a  deer  made  very  sharp  with  two 
fangs  in  the  manner  of  a  harping  iron.  They  had  likewise  darts  headed 
with  like  bone,  one  of  which  I  darted  among  the  rocks  and  it  brake  not.”1 

John  Josselyn  in  his  Account  of  Two  Voyages  to  New  England 
informs  us  that  the  Indians  from  their  canoes  strike  the  fish  with 

“  A  kind  of  dart  or  staff,  to  the  lower  end  whereof  they  fasten  a  sharp 
jagged  bone  .  .  .  with  a  string  fastened  to  it,  as  soon  as  the  fish  is 

struck  they  pull  away  the  start',  leaving  the  bony  head  in  the  fishes  body 
and  fasten  the  other  end  of  the  string  to  the  Canow :  Thus  they  will 
hale  after  them  to  shore  half  a  dozen  or  half  a  score  great  fishes.” 

The  polished  slate  implements  of  New  England  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  Eskimo.  They  are  also  characteristic  of  the  people 
whose  graves  are  described  in  this  paper  and  these  are  certainly  not 
Eskimo  graves  if  judged  by  the  method  of  burial  known  to  be 
Eskimo.  The  people  whose  remains  are  found  in  these  cemeteries 
were  evidently  not  makers  of  pottery.  No  potsherds  were  en¬ 
countered  within  the  graves  or  upon  the  surface  of  the  burial 
places.  Pestles,  grooved  axes,  pipes,  perforated  gorgets  and  the 
so-called  ceremonial  implements,  so  common  among  the  Algonquins, 
were  also  wanting. 

The  following  brief  extracts  from  the  valuable  papers  of  Mr. 
T.  G.  B.  Lloyd  upon  the  now  extinct  Beothuks2  may  throw  some 
light  upon  the  possible  origin  of  these  burial  places.  It  is  not  im¬ 
probable  that  the  majority  of  the  grooved  gouges  and  polished 
slate  implements  found  throughout  New  England  and  the  British 
provinces  were  left  by  this  people  before  being  driven  eastward  by 
the  invading  tribes  from  the  west. 

When  Cartier  and  other  early  explorers  visited  eastern  America 
they  found  people  inhabiting  the  island  of  Newfoundland  who 
were  known  as  the  Beothuks  or  Red  Indians. 

“  The  epithet  1  Red  Indian’  is  given  to  the  savages  of  Newfoundland 
from  their  universal  custom  of  colouring  their  garments,  canoes,  bows 
and  arrows,  and  every  other  utensil  belonging  to  them,  with  red  ochre, 
obtained  by  them  from  Red  Ochre  Island,  Conception  Bay.”3 4 

“They  have  great  store  of  red  ochre,  which  they  use  to  colour  their 
bodies,  bows  and  arrows,  and  canoes.”1 

1  Rosier’s  Narrative  of  Waymoutli’s  Voyage  to  the  Coast  of  Maine  in  1605. 

Eastern  Times  Reprint,  Bath,  Me.,  1S60,  p.  25. 

2  These  Indians  are  supposed  to  have  become  extinct  early  in  the  present  century. 

3  T.  G.  B.  Lloyd,  The  Beothucs.  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  Vol.  IV,  No.  1,  p.  23. 

4  Purchase.  Quoted  by  Lloyd.  Ibid.  p.  22. 


435 


52 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL  PLACES  IN  MAINE. 


From  the  accounts  of  the  different  modes  of  burial  in  practice 
among  the  Beothuks  I  quote  the  following  : 

“  The  most  common  method  of  intermentwas  that  of  placing  the  body 
in  a  wrapping  of  birch  bark  and  covering  it  well  with  a  pile  of  stones, 
if  such  it  can  lie  called.  But  sometimes  it  was  put  a  foot  or  more  under 
the  surface  of  the  ground  before  the  stones  were  placed  on  it,  and  in 
one  place,  where  the  ground  was  sandy  and  soft,  the  graves  were  deeper, 
and  on  them  no  stones  were  placed.”1 

“  Further  information  regarding  the  Red  Indian,  in  the  Museum  at  St. 
John’s,  Newfoundland. —  Mr.  Alexander  Murray,  in  answer  to  my  queries, 
says,  in  a  letter,  dated  March  19th,  1875 :  ‘  I  have  made  a  discovery  re¬ 
garding  the  Red  Indian  skull  I  have.  It  appears  that  Dr.  Winter,  of  this 
place,  took  it  and  a  thigh  bone  from  the  skeleton,  which  was  found  on 
the  straight  shore  opposite  the  Indian  Islands,  in  Sir  Charles  Hamilton's 
Sound.  The  skeleton,  according  to  Dr.  Winter,  had  been  wrapped  in 
birch  bark,  and  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  had  various  stone  imple¬ 
ments  entombed,  together  with  large  crystals  of  iron  pyrites  to  strike  lire 
with  when  he  woke  up  again.  Dr.  Winter  further  states,  that  the  remains 
bore  evidences  of  having  been  shot,  some  large  seal-  or  swan-shot  being- 
found  sticking  in  the  bones,  some  of  which  and  the  skull  were  fractured.”2 

“During  my  lirst  visit  to  Mr.  John  Peyton,  in  reply  to  the  question, 
1  How  did  the  Bcothucs  obtain  lire?  ’  he  replied,  that  they  iguited  the  down 
of  the  blue  jay  by  sparks  struck  from  two  pieces  of  iron  pyrites.”3 

“  It  appears  that  the  Bcothucs  did  not  make  any  kind  of  pottery.”4 

Maj.  J.  IV.  Powell,  writing  of  the  language  of  this  little  known 
people,  says  : 

“  Neither  in  amount  nor  quality  is  the  material  sufficient  to  permit  liual 
and  satisfactory  deductions,  yet  so  far  as  it  goes  it  shows  that  the  lan¬ 
guage  is  quite  distinct  from  any  of  the  Algonquian  dialects,  and  in  fact 
from  any  other  American  tongue.”3 

I  am  aware  that  these  quotations  have  but  an  indirect  bearing 
upon  the  question  of  the  origin  of  these  graves,  still  they  may 
serve  as  suggestions  for  future  investigations. 


>  Ibid.  p.  32. 

2  T.  G.  B.  Lloyd.  On  the  Beothucs  of  Newfoundland#  Journal  of  the  Anthropolog¬ 
ical  Institute  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Vol.  V,  No.  II,  pp.  226-227. 

3  Ibid.  p.  225.  4  Ibid.  p.  220. 

6  J.  W.  Powell.  Indian  Linguistic  Families.  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology.  Vo).  VII,  pp.  57,  5S. 


136 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  AND  ETHNOLOGICAL  PAPERS 


OF  THE 

PEABODY  MUSEUM. 

—  Harvard  University  — 

Vol.  I.  No.  7. 


A  PENITENTIAL  RITE 

OF  THE 

ANCIENT  MEXICANS 


ZELIA  NUTTALL 

Honorary  Assistant  in  Mexican  Archaeology 


WITH  5  PLATES  AND  8  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Published  by  the  Museum 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
December,  1904. 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


Whatever  views  may  be  held  concerning  the  religion  of  the 
Ancient  Mexicans;  whether  we  adopt  the  ideas  promulgated 
by  the  Berlin  school  of  Mexican  mythology,  which  speaks  of 
a  Mexican  “pantheon,”  and  crowds  its  labyrinthian  passages 
with  innumerable  “gods”  and  “goddesses;”  or  whether,  as 
many  analogies  indicate,  the  Ancient  Mexican  sociological  and 
religious  system  was  a  development  on  the  same  lines  of  thought 
which  produced  that  of  the  Zuhi  and  Pawnee  people  of  today, 
there  is  one  point  on  which  all  must  agree,  namely,  that  the 
Ancient  Mexicans  practised  their  religion  with  a  zeal  and  de¬ 
votion  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

It  was  not  only  the  priesthood  which  subjected  itself  to  a 
stern  discipline  which  enforced  prolonged  fasts  and  excruciating 
self-torture,  but  the  painful  rite  of  drawing  blood  from  one's 
body  and  offering  it  to  the  deity,  commonly  practised  by  all 
persons,  young  and  old,  was  a  feature  of  everyday  life.  Some 
time  ago,  whilst  making  a  special  study  of  the  rituals  of  the 
Ancient  Mexicans,  I  collected  and  translated,  from  the  works 
of  various  writers,  a  number  of  passages  relating  to  the  native 
rite  of  drawing  blood  from  the  ear,  the  tongue,  and  other 
parts  of  the  body.  The  fact  that,  in  passages  describing  the 
rite  of  blood-sacrifice,  the  piercing  or  cutting  of  the  helix  of 
the  ear  is  usually  mentioned  first,  tends  to  show  that  a  par¬ 
ticular  sanctity  or  significance  was  associated  with  this  partic¬ 
ular  organ.  The  precedence  accorded  to  this  rite,  which  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  ceremonial  of  piercing  the  lobe 
of  the  ear  for  the  purpose  of  wearing  ear-ornaments,  is  par¬ 
ticularly  interesting  in  connection  with  Miss  Alice  Fletcher’s 
recognition  of  the  importance  attached  to  the  ceremonial 
piercing  of  the  ear  amongst  the  tribes  of  the  Siouan  group. 

439 


4 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  most  satisfactory  method  of 
presenting  the  material  which  I  have  collected  from  the  writ¬ 
ings  of  Friars  Sahagun,  Motolinia,  Duran,  Mendieta,  the 
Chronicles  of  Tezozomoc  and  other  authorities,  would  be  to 
present  literal  translations  of  such  passages  as  best  preserve 
details  and  local  coloring. 

In  honor  of  the  Lord  of  the  Night,  this  being  one  of  the 


many  titles  bestowed  upon  Tezcatlipoca,  the  Lord  of  the 
North,  of  the  Underworld,  etc.,  a  festival  was  held  once  or 
twice  a  year  on  the  day  Nahui  Ollin.  According  to  Sahagun 
the  priests  fasted  during  the  four  days  preceding  this  festival 
and,  at  noon,  blew  conch-shells,  flutes,  and  whistles,  and  then 
passed  slender  twigs  or  sticks  through  their  tongues.  An 
interesting  bas-relief  preserved  at  Jalapa  (Fig.  1)  illustrates 
440 


PENITENTIAL  HITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


5 


this  painful  rite,  the  most  graphic  description  of  which  is  given 
by  Friar  Mendieta  in  his  Historica  Ecclesiastica  Indiana 
(chap,  xvn):  ‘  ‘At  Tlaxcalla  .  .  .  the  priests  .  .  .  performed  an 
unheard  of  and  horrible  self-sacrifice  .  .  .  the  servitors  of  the 
temple  brought  together  a  great  quantity  of  sticks,  as  long  as 
an  arm  and  as  thick  as  a  wrist.  These  had  been  manufactured 
by  a  number  of  carpenters  who  had  prepared  themselves  for 
doing  so  by  fasting  and  praying  during  five  days.  The  master 
stone  workers,  after  praying  and  fasting,  also  made  many 
black  obsidian  knives  which  were  to  be  used  in  perforating 
the  tongues  of  the  priests  and  which,  after  having  been  sanc¬ 
tified,  were  laid  on  a  clean  cloth.  ” 

“They  first  performed  a  dance  with  songs  and  beating  of 
drums.  Then  a  master  who  was  an  expert  in  this  office  came 
with  the  obsidian  knife,  and  made  a  large  opening  in  the 
tongue  of  each  of  the  principal  priests  .  .  .  The  Achcauhtli, 
or  high  priest  then  drew  through  his  tongue,  on  that  day,  four 
hundred  of  those  sticks.  Other  old,  practised  and  strong- 
minded  priests,  imitating  his  example,  also  drew  the  same 
number  of  sticks  through  their  tongues.  The  less  aged  priests 
used  three  hundred  sticks,  some  of  which  were  either  as  thick 
as  a  thumb,  as  a  great  toe  or  as  the  index  and  middle  finger 
together.  Younger  priests  did  not  employ  more  than  two 
hundred  sticks,  but  all  according  to  their  strength  and  valor, 
performed  this  rite,  at  the  termination  of  which  their  aged 
leader  intoned  a  chant,  although  he  could  hardly  raise  his 
voice  on  account  of  his  lacerated  tongue.  All  made  efforts, 
however,  to  sing  and  offer  sacrifices  and  then  those  of  the 
temple  began  an  eighty  day  fast  during  which,  at  intervals  of 
twenty  days,  they  drew  the  sticks  through  their  tongues  four 
times  .  .  .” 

In  chapter  xviii  Mendieta  specially  describes  the  ear  sacri¬ 
fice  performed  by  the  priests  who  fasted  during  periods  of  four 
years  and  who,  at  intervals  of  twenty  days,  passed  through 
the  holes,  cut  in  their  ears,  sixty  pieces  of  cane,  as  long  as  an 
arm,  some  thick  and  some  thin.  “These  blood-stained  offerings 
were  placed  in  a  heap,  in  front  of  the  idols  and  were  burnt  at 
the  end  of  the  four  years  .  .  .”  Friar  Sahagun  relates  that, 
every  day  of  the  year,  the  priests  offered  blood  from  their  ears 

441 


6  PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

to  the  sun  at  sunrise  and  also  at  noon,  on  the  day  Nahui  Ollin, 
when  all  persons,  old  and  young,  also  drew  blood  from  their  ears 
in  strictly  observed  silence  and  in  front  of  the  sculptured  and 
painted  image  of  the  Sun  which  was  in  the  temple  named 
Quauhxicalco.  This  image,  the  Friar  adds,  represented  the  sun 
as  a  human  face  encircled  with  rays.  The  partly  unpublished 
MS.  of  Sahagun’s  work,  preserved  in  Florence,  contains  an  in¬ 
teresting  illustration  to  this  passage,  in  which  the  image  of 
the  sun  is  held  by  a  man  whose  body  is  partly  hidden,  and  two 
men,  seated  opposite  to  each  other  in  the  foreground,  are  in 
the  act  of  piercing  the  helices  or  external  borders  of  their  ears 
(Fig.  2).  On  the  same  day  and  at  the  same  hour,  blood  was 


also  drawn  from  the  ears  of  “babes  in  their  cradles, ’’who  were 
thus  made  to  participate  in  the  general  blood-offering.  All 
adults  made  offering  of  their  blood  during  five  days  preceding 
the  fixed  festivals  held  at  intervals  of  twenty  days.  The  men 
made  incisions  in  their  ears  and  painted  lines  on  their  faces 
with  the  blood  thus  obtained.  The  lines  they  drew  were 
straight  and  extended  from  the  eyebrow  to  the  jaw-bone. 
The  women  drew  circles  on  their  faces  and,  as  an  act  of  special 
devotion,  sometimes  offered  blood  in  this  way  during  a  consecu¬ 
tive  period  of  eighty  days,  cutting  themselves  at  intervals  of 
three  or  four  days.  This  ceremony  was  named  Nenacaztequi- 
liztli  (lit.  the  ear-cutting). 

Another  rite,  named  Tlazcaltiliztli,  was  performed,  as  an 


442 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


7 


act  of  homage  to  the  sun  or  to  the  element  fire,  whenever  any 
one  finished  building  a  new  house,  or  when  the  sign  of  the  sun 
reigned  in  the  native  Calendar. 

This  rite  consisted  in  drawing  a  drop  of  blood  from  the  ear 
and  catching  it  on  the  nail  of  the  first  finger  and  filliping  it 
towards  the  sun  or  into  the  fire. 

Sahagun  distinctly  states  that  this  rite  was  the  same  as 
that  named  Acxoiatemaliztli  which  he  describes  as  follows: 
“As  an  act  of  devotion  some  offer  their  blood  in  the  temples 
during  the  vigils  of  the  festivals.  In  order  to  make  their  offer¬ 
ing  more  acceptable  they  first  went  and  gathered  branches  of 
the  wild  laurel  named  Acxoiatl  which  grows  in  great  quantities 
in  their  woods,  and  brought  them  to  the  calpulcos  or  houses 
of  communal  government,  situated  in  their  respective  quarters 


Fig.  3. 

of  the  city.  There  they  took  two  of  the  sharp  points  of  the 
agave  leaf  and  drew  blood  from  their  shins,  then  carried  these 
blood-stained  points  to  the  temple  where  they  offered  them  to 
the  god  to  whom  they  rendered  devotion  on  a  sort  of  circular 
cushion  or  mat  made  of  the  young  branches  of  the  wild  laurel.” 
Sahagun’s  association  of  this  ceremony  with  the  drawing  of 
blood  from  the  ear,  is  corroborated  by  an  illustration  contained 
in  the  Anon.  Hispano-Mexican  MS.  preserved  in  the  National 
Library  at  Florence  entitled  ‘  ‘  The  Book  of  the  Life  of  the  An¬ 
cient  Mexicans”  (Fig.  3). 

This  represents  a  step-pyramid  surmounted  by  an  image  of 
the  “Lord  of  the  North  or  of  the  Underworld,”  and  the  per- 

443 


8 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


formance  of  what  the  text  designates  as  “a  penitential  rite”  in 
his  honor. 

The  penitents  who  are  respectively  piercing  tongue  and  ear, 
also  exhibit  bleeding  wounds  in  other  parts  of  their  bodies.  At 
the  base  of  the  pyramid,  on  a  mat  of  leaves  presumably  of  the 
wild  laurel,  lies  the  ball  of  woven  grass,  which  Sahagun  names 
the  “gacatapayolli,”  in  which  two  agave  points  are  sticking. 

The  above  illustration  accords  with  Friar  Duran’s  statement 
(Historia,  vol.  11,  p.  195)  that,  at  a  certain  festival,  “all  priests 
and  dignitaries  took  small  obsidian  sacrificial  lancets  and  made 
incisions  in  their  tongues,  ears,  breasts,  arms,  and  legs.  Some 
penitents  pierced  the  ears  and  pushed  many  reeds  through  the 
opening  —  others  perforated  their  tongues  and  drew  a  number 
of  straws  through  them  .  .  .”  The  above  references  to  the  rite 
as  being  penitential  are  corroborated  by  Duran’s  distinct  state¬ 
ment  that,  “according  to  the  number  of  grave  offences  com¬ 
mitted  by  a  penitent,  he  or  she  took  a  number  of  straws,  of  the 
kind  used  for  making  brooms,  each  one  a  handbreadth  in  length. 
With  these  he  went  to  the  temple,  perforated  his  tongue  with  a 
lancet  and  passed  the  straws  through  it,  and  then  threw  these 
in  front  of  the  idol  .  .  .  Later  on,  the  priests  gathered  up  all 
these  blood-stained  straws  and  burnt  them  in  what  was  called 
the  ‘divine  brazier,’  after  which  the  penitents  were  declared 
free  of  their  offences.” 

The  same  author  describes  (vol.  11,  p.  244)  as  follows,  the 
penitential  rites  performed  by  the  priesthood  during  the  festival 
Etzalqualiztli : — “The  priests  fasted  for  four  days,  and  each 
night,  after  midnight,  went  to  where  the  agave  points  were  kept 
which  had  been  cut  on  the  previous  day  and  had  been  brought 
sticking  into  pieces  of  the  fleshy  agave  leaf.  They  then  cut 
their  ears"' with  small  obsidian  knives  and  stained  their  faces 
and  the  agave  points  with  blood.  According  to  the  devotion 
of  each  priest  the  number  of  the  agave  points  he  stained  with 
his  blood  was  five  or  more  or  less.”  Elsewhere  it  is  stated  that 
each  priest  carried  with  him  a  piece  of  the  flesh}’’  part  of  the 
agave  leaf,  into  which  he  stuck  the  thorns  used  in  performing 
the  penance.  The  duty  of  collecting  and  preparing  the  agave 
leaf  points  used  in  the  performance  of  penitential  rites  de¬ 
volved  upon  the  larger  boys  who  were  being  educated,  by  the 
priesthood,  in  the  Calmecac.  According  to  the  Codex  Ramirez 
444 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


9 


(Ed.  Jose  Vijil,  p.  113) :  “after  the  performance  of  certain  rites, 
the  priests  went,  at  midnight,  into  a  wide  room  in  which  there 
were  many  seats”  —  a  fact  to  which  I  will  revert  further  on. 
“  The  priests,  being  seated,  took  either  an  agave  point  or  an  ob¬ 
sidian  lancet  and  pricked  or  cut  their  ankles.  They  then 
smeared  their  blood  on  their  temples  as  well  as  on  the  agave 
points  or  lancets  and  stuck  these  into  the  prepared  grass  balls, 
which  were  afterwards  usually  placed  between  the  turrets  on 
the  wall  enclosing  the  courtyard.  These  balls  were  allowed  to 
remain  there  so  that  all  should  see  that  the  penitential  rite  had 
been  duly  performed  by  the  priests  on  behalf  of  the  people.” 

“In  the  great  temple  there  was  always  a  large  number  of 
these  lancets  and  agave  points  because  those  stuck  in  the  grass 
balls  were  constantly  being  removed  and  replaced  by  others. 
They  were  never  used  twice  and  were  preserved  with  great  rev¬ 
erence,  in  memory  of  the  blood  offering  made  to  their  god.” 
The  foregoing  mention  that  the  thorns  were  reverently  pre¬ 
served  is  of  special  importance  and  is  further  corroborated  by 
Friar  Sahagun’s  statement  that  Vitztepeoalco,  the  name  of  the 
23rd  edifice  of  the  great  temple,  signified  literally:  the  place 
wherein  the  thorns  or  agave  points  are  thrown.  This  structure 
is,  moreover,  described  as  “a  square,  surrounded  by  a  low  wall, 
into  which  the  priests  cast  the  agave  points  with  which  they 
had  performed  penance.  Pieces  of  green  reeds  or  cane,  stained 
with  blood,  were  also  thrown  there,  as  an  offering  to  the  gods.” 

A  perusal  of  the  following  detached  quotations  teaches  fur¬ 
ther  that,  in  Ancient  Mexico,  according  to  circumstances,  the 
performance  of  the  rite  of  blood  sacrifice,  constituted  an  act  of 
humility,  of  thanksgiving,  of  penitence,  or  of  propitiation.  A 
passage  in  the  Chronicle  of  Tezozomoc  (p.  639)  relates  how 
certain  representatives  of  a  conquered  tribe,  on  reaching  the 
Mexican  capital,  first  went  to  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli 
where,  “as  a  sign  of  true  humility  and  abasement,  they  pierced 
their  ears,  arms,  the  calves  of  their  legs  with  agave  points  and 
then  betook  themselves  to  the  house  of  Montezuma.”  Duran 
records  (vol.  i,  p.  424)  that  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  Mexican 
ruler  “bled  his  ears  and  limbs  as  an  action  of  thanksgiving” 
and  it  was  possibly  as  such  that  the  rite  was  solemnly  per¬ 
formed  by  the  newly  elected  rulers  of  Mexico  during  the  elabo- 

445 


10  PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

rate  ceremonies  which  accompanied  their  inauguration.  The 
following  curious  details  are  preserved  in  Duran’s  account  of 
the  preparation  made  for  the  ceremonies  of  Montezuma’s  in¬ 
auguration.  “On  the  floor  of  the  temple,  near  the  brazier, 
were  laid  the  royal  robes  and  diadem,  an  incense-burner  and 
three  sharp-pointed  bones  .  .  .  After  his  investment  with  the 
royal  insignia  Montezuma  burned  incense  in  honor  of  the  god 
of  fire  and  then  pierced  his  ears  with  the  sharp-pointed  ocelot 
or  tiger  bone,  incised  the  fleshy  part  of  his  arm  with  the  puma’s 
bone,  and  his  shins  with  the  eagle’s  bone.”  Later,  in  the  great 
temple,  on  the  “Stone  of  the  Eagles,”  he  again  drew  blood 
from  the  same  parts  of  his  body,  with  the  same  bone  instru¬ 
ments,  observing  the  same  order.  In  the  discourse  addressed 
to  him  on  this  occasion  by  the  ruler  of  Tezcoco,  Montezuma  is 
exhorted  to  attend  to  his  new  duties,  one  of  which  was  the 
observation  of  the  stars,  another  that  of  sacrificing  his  blood 
and  offering  it  to  the  gods  on  behalf  of  the  people.  Monte¬ 
zuma’s  use  of  an  ocelot  bone  for  piercing  his  ears  is  corrobo¬ 
rated  by  Tezozomoc  who  repeatedly  alludes  (pp.  573,577,587) 
to  the  thin,  sharp  instruments  made  of  ocelot  or  puma  bones, 
which  were  used  by  the  same  ruler  for  bleeding  his  ears  and 
limbs.  In  describing  the  inaugural  festivities  of  Tizoc,  Duran 
states  that  the  sharp  ocelot  bone  instrument  used  by  the  ruler 
was  “garnished  with  gold”  (vol.  11,  p.  310).  Finally  the  same 
author  relates  of  Ahuitzotl  that:  —  “after  sacrificing  quails  be¬ 
fore  the  idol  of  Huitzilopochtli,  he  asked  for  the  bone  of  an 
ocelot.  An  extremely  pointed  and  sharp  one  having  been 
handed  him,  he  perforated  the  helix  of  his  ears,  ...  his  arms 
and  legs  .  .  .  (vol.  ii,  p.  376).  On  another  occasion,  however, 
when  Ahuitzotl  entered  the  temple  at  Chaleo  in  which  the  idol 
of  Tezcatlipoca  was  a  special  object  of  worship,  he  “sacrificed 
a  number  of  quail  and  then,  asking  for  an  eagle’s  bone,  bled 
his  ears,  arms,  and  shins  .  .  .”  (vol.  i.  Duran,  p.  378). 

The  following  passage  demonstrates  that  the  performance 
of  the  rite  was  supposed  to  insure  success  in  the  hunt.  “On 
the  seventh  day  of  the  hunters’  festival,  Quecholli,  there  was  a 
great  gathering  in  the  courtyard  of  the  temple  of  Huitzilo¬ 
pochtli.  A  large  number  of  arrows  were  ceremonially  manu¬ 
factured  and  all  participants”  cut  and  bled  their  ears.  If  any 
446 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


11 


one  omitted  this  rite  he  was  fined  by  the  men  named  Tepan- 
mani  who  took  his  mantle  from  him  and  never  returned  it. 
All  of  the  youths  assembled  were  sent  up  to  the  temple  of 
Huitzilopochtli  where  they  were  obliged  to  cut  their  ears  and 
anoint  their  faces  and  brows  with  their  blood.  “This  rite  was 
called  moma^agio  (lit.,  the  deer  sacrifice),  because  it  was  per¬ 
formed  with  reference  to  the  deer  the  youths  were  going  to 
hunt.”  (Sahagun,  book  i,  chap.  xxxm). 

During  the  fifteenth  festival  period  named  Panquetzaliztli, 
the  following  rite  was  performed  “by  those  women  who  were 
going  to  sacrifice  slaves.  They  went  to  bathe  in  the  stream 
which  flowed  past  their  dwellings,  each  woman  carrying  four 
agave  points.  Before  bathing  they  cut  their  ears  and  after 
smearing  blood  on  the  agave  points  they  cast  one  of  them  into 
the  water;  they  stuck  one  in  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  offered 
the  remaining  ones  to  the  idol  in  the  adjacent  oratory.  .  .  ” 

Sahagun  relates  that  when  the  youths  who  were  being  edu¬ 
cated  in  the  Calmecac,  wish  to  perform  voluntary  penance, 
they  “set  out  alone  and  walked  towards  the  hills,  woods  and 
rivers.  Each  one  carried  pine  torches,  a  bagful  of  copal  gum, 
an  incense  burner,  a  conchshell  trumpet,  and  agave  points. 
When  he  reached  his  destination  he  bled  himself  with  the  latter 
and  inserted  them  into  the  grass  ball,  and  then  returned  home¬ 
ward,  alone,  blowing  his  conchshell.”  It  is  also  recorded  that 
the  priests  of  the  Calmecac  used  the  agave  points  in  inflicting 
such  minor  punishments  upon  their  pupils  as  pricking  their 
ears  or  bodies,  or  beating  them  with  nettles.  In  the  description 
of  a  certain  festival  it  is  recorded  that  the  priest  used  a  flint 
knife  to  cut  the  ears  of  the  youths  who  displayed  a  lack  of  self- 
control  and  succumbed  to  fatigue  on  reaching  the  summit  of 
the  temple  after  a  certain  race.  The  same  priests  are  said  to 
have  tortured  their  prisoners  by  “piercing  their  ears,  arms, 
and  legs  with  agave  points,  making  them  cry  out  in  pain.  ’  ’ 

The  following  passage  affords  a  somewhat  more  pleasing 
glimpse  into  the  life  of  Ancient  Mexico: 

‘  ‘  Every  fourth  year,  in  the  last  day  of  the  eighteenth  festi¬ 
val  period  named  Izcalli,  the  ears  of  all  children  born  during 
the  preceding  three  years  were  bled.  This  rite  was  performed 
by  means  of  a  sharp  bone  instrument  and  the  wound  was  sub- 

447 


12  PENITENTIAL  RITE  OP  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

sequently  dressed  with  parrots’  down  and  pine-pitch.”  The 
children’s  parents  appointed  so-called  "aunts  and  uncles” 
to  act  as  "sponsors”  during  the  operation,  after  which  they 
made  offerings  of  a  paste  made  of  the  seeds  of  a  kind  of  salvia, 
named  Chian.  In  recognition  of  their  services  the  parents 
presented  an  "uncle”  with  a  red  or  fallow  Tilmatl  or  mantle 
and  an  "aunt”  with  a  Huipil  or  sleeveless  upper  garment. 
The  friar  records  that,  while  their  ears  were  being  pierced,  the 
children  made  a  great  outcry,  and  that,  immediately  afterwards, 
their  sponsors  led  them  to  a  bonfire  prepared  for  the  purpose 
around  which  they  were  made  to  walk.  They  were  then  taken 
to  their  respective  homes,  where  their  sponsors  feasted  with 
them  and  all  danced  and  sang  together.  At  noon  all  returned 
to  the  temple  with  jars  of  pulque,  the  native  agave- wine,  and 
there  performed  a  dance  the  sponsors  carrying  their  respective 
charges  on  their  backs.  Then  each  child  was  given  some  pulque 
in  a  tiny  bowl,  for  which  reason  the  festival  was  also  known  as 
"the  intoxication  of  the  children.” 

In  the  description  of  the  same  quadriennial  festival  in  Serna’s 
"Manual  de  los  Ministros,”  chap  xi,  it  is  stated  that  besides 
piercing  the  ears  of  the  girls  and  boys,  the  high  priest  perforated 
the  lower  lip  of  the  boys  so  that  they  could  subsequently  wear 
lab  rets. 

Sahagun  alludes  to  the  latter  custom  in  the  appendix  to 
book  ii  of  his  Historia  where  he  states  that  it  was  "in  honor 
of  the  devil,  that  the  natives  pierced  their  ears  and  wore  ear¬ 
rings  and  pierced  their  lower  lip  and  wore  labrets;”  operations 
which  were  respectively  designated  by  the  Nahuatl  words: 
Nenacazxapotlaliztli  (lit.,  the  car  perforating)  and  Netenxapot- 
laliztli  (the  lip  perforating). 

While  it  is  thus  evident  that  the  ceremonial  piercing  of  the 
ears  and  of  the  lips  was  associated  with  religious  or  supersti¬ 
tious  ideas,  it  is  evident  that,  in  the  case  of  the  little  children, 
all  was  done  in  order  to  palliate  the  pain  inflicted  and  to  make 
the  occasion  one  of  festivity  and  rejoicing. 

We  are  indebted  to  Serna  for  the  record  of  the  peculiar  cir¬ 
cumstance  that  during  the  joint  festival  of  Chicome  Xochitl— 
Seven  Flower,  the  patron  of  the  painters,  weavers  and  embroi¬ 
derers,  and  of  Xochiquetzal,  the  inventress  of  weaving,  the 
448 


PENITENTIAL  HITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


13 


principal  offering  made  by  their  devotees  was  blood  drawn 
from  the  fingers  or  eyelids. 

During  the  third  movable  festival  all  married  people  made 
offerings  of  blood  drawn  from  the  left  breast  or  from  their  eye¬ 
lids,  the  blood  being  caught  on  strips  of  paper  which  were  then 
thrown  into  earthen  jars  and  burnt  in  front  of  certain  idols. 

In  the  “Book  of  the  life  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans”,  published 
by  the  University  of  California,  and  elsewhere,  it  is  recorded 
that  men,  desiring  offspring,  offered  blood  drawn  from  their 
organs  of  generation. 

During  the  sixth  movable  festival  those  who  rendered 
homage  to  the  god  Quetzalcoatl  sent  to  the  temple  what  are 
described  by  Serna  as  “ small  salt-cellars”  containing  eight 
to  ten  drops  or  more  of  their  own  blood,  absorbed  by  means  of 
strips  of  paper  which  were  subsequently  burnt,  with  copal  gum, 
on  the  altars  of  the  temple.  The  allusion  to  tiny  earthen 
vessels  in  connection  with  similar  blood-offerings  naturally  sug¬ 
gests  an  explanation  for  the  purpose  of  the  small  terra-cotta 
dishes  and  particularly  of  the  enigmatical  receptacles  with  two 
deep  holes  which  are  found  at  Teotihuacan  in  great  numbers. 

The  question  as  to  the  origin  of  the  peculiar  sanguinary  rites 
of  the  Ancient  Mexicans  is  next  to  be  considered.  According  to 
Friar  Duran,  the  custom  of  piercing  the  flesh  with  agave  points 
was  first  taught  to  the  priesthood  by  “Quetzalcoatl  of  Tula” 
(vol.  ii,  p.  244)  and  his  testimony  agrees  with  that  of  the  com¬ 
mentator  of  the  Codex  Telleriano  Remensis.  Other  evidence 
tends  to  prove,  however,  that  the  origin  of  the  rite  was  as¬ 
signed  by  the  Ancient  Mexicans  to  remotest  antiquity  and 
to  the  gods  themselves.  In  the  creation-myth  as  recorded 
in  chap,  vii  of  the  Codex  Fuenleal,*  the  gods  Quetzalcoatl 
and  Tlalocantecuhtli  “fasted  and  drew  blood  from  their  ears” 
before  creating  the  sun  and  the  moon.  In  chap,  viii  it  is  related 
that  later  on,  at  a  certain  date,  the  god  Camasale  (Camaxtli) 
also  named  Mixcoatl,  “performed  penance  with  agave  leaf 
points,  drawing  blood  from  his  tongue  and  ears,  and  for  this  rea¬ 
son  it  is  customary  to  draw  blood  from  the  same  whenever  one 
made  any  petition  to  the  gods.” 

*The  Codex  Fuenleal  or  “Historia  de  los  Mexicanos  por  sus  pinturas,”  published 
in  Vol.  ii  of  the  Anales  del  Museo  Nacional,  1882. 


449 


14 


PENITENTIAL  BITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


Sahagun’s  version  of  the  creation  of  the  sun  and  moon  (book 
vii,  chap,  ii )  differs  from  the  foregoing  and  relates  that  it  was 
Nanaoatzin  who,  ‘‘after  offering  agave  points  stained  with  his 
blood  and  stuck  into  grass  balls,”  voluntarily  cast  himself  into 
the  fire  and  became  the  sun;  while  Tecuciztecatl.  following 
his  example  became  the  moon. 

1  rom  Bishop  Diego  de  Lancia,  who  devotes  a  whole  chap¬ 
ter  to  the  “Cruel  and  obscene  rites  of  the  Yucatecs,”  we  learn 
that  similar  forms  of  self-torture  were  practised  in  Yucatan. 
1  he  eai -sacrifice  is  described  as  follows;  ‘‘They  sometimes 
made  an  offering  of  their  own  blood  by  making  incisions  all 
around  the  external  border  of  their  ears,  leaving  the  lacerations 
as  records  ol  their  penance”  (ed.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
p.  161).  Bishop  Lauda  expressly  states  that  “the  women  of 
T  ucatan  did  not  make  blood-offerings  although  they  were  very 


Fig.  4. 


devout.”  It  is  therefore  remarkable  that  the  Maya  Codex, 
named  Troano,  contains  representations  of  three  men  and  one 
woman  in  the  act  of  piercing  their  left  ears,  from  each  of  which 
a  stream  of  blood  falls  into  what  are  presumably  small  bowls 
placed  in  front  of  each  penitent  (Fig.  4).  The  finely  carved 
bas-relief  from  Menche  (Yaxchilan)  which  was  presented  to 
the  British  Museum  by  Dir.  Alfred  P.  Maudslay  proves  that 
tongue-perforation  was  also  practised  in  the  Usumasinta  valley. 
It  represents  a  seated  personage  in  the  act  of  drawing  a  cord, 
with  thorns,  through  his  protruding  tongue. 

Briefly  summarized;  the  foregoing  evidence  establishes  that 
while  blood  was  drawn  from  different  parts  of  the  body  and 
offered  to  the  gods,  it  was  the  ear-sacrifice  that  constituted 
450 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


15 


the  salient  characteristic  features  of  the  ancient  native  religion, 
being  practised  in  every  day  life,  by  persons  of  all  ages.  After 
having  been  offered,  the  blood-stained  pieces  of  cane,  agave 
points,  obsidian  lancets  or  straws  employed  in  the  performance 
of  the  penitential  rite  were  carefully  preserved.  In  some  cases 
the  instruments  themselves,  in  others  strips  of  paper  saturated 
with  blood,  were  burnt,  and  their  ashes  deposited  in  some  sacred 
spot.  It  is  recorded  that  a  feature  of  the  great  temple  of  Mexico 
was  the  square  enclosure  into  which  were  thrown  the  agave 
points,  etc.,  used  by  the  priests  in  performing  penitential  rites. 
No  documentary  evidence  has,  however,  as  yet  been  found 
indicating  the  place  where  the  high-priests  and  rulers  preserved 
their  blood  offerings  after  performing  rites,  which,  in  their  case 
were  of  such  special  sanctity. 

On  the  other  hand  the  National  Museum  of  Mexico  possesses 
some  monuments  exhibiting  sculptured  representations  of  the 
performance  of  the  ear-sacrifice  which  yield  valuable  informa¬ 
tion  on  the  subject. 


fig.  5. 


I  he  first  (Fig.  5)  is  the  well-known  historical  bas-relief  rep¬ 
resenting  the  Mexican  rulers  Tizoc  and  his  successor  Ahuitzotl, 

451 


16  PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

each  with  an  incense-burner  at  his  feet  in  the  act  of  piercing 
their  helices.  Between  them  and  on  a  stand  surrounded  by 
laurel  leaves,  lies  the  round  cushion  into  which  two  bone  instru¬ 
ments  with  handles  in  the  form  of  a  flower,  are  inserted.  A 
stream  of  blood  falls,  from  each  ear,  into  an  open  jaw  carved 
in  the  symbolical  border  beneath  the  figures.  The  date  recorded 
in  the  bas-relief  is  that  of  the  dedication  of  the  Great  Temple 
and  it  is  evident  that  this  sculptured  slab  must  have  been  in¬ 
serted  in  some  wall  or  monumental  structure.  Besides  com¬ 
memorating  the  historical  event  and  the  performance  of  the 
sacred  rite  it  may  have  also  marked  the  site  where  the  blood 
offerings  of  both  rulers  were  reverently  deposited.  Figure  C 
(a  and  b)  represents  the  square  stone  box  which  is  preserved 
at  the  National  Museum  of  Mexico  and  has  been  identified  by 
different  authorities  as  a  funeral  urn,  or  “a  receptacle  for  the 


Fie.  6. 

blood  of  human  victims.”  The  fact  that  a  seated,  one¬ 
footed  personage  (a)  in  the  act-  of  piercing  his  ear  is  carved  on 
one  of  its  sides,  and  that  on  the  opposite  side  (&)  is  carved  the 
grass  cushion  into  which  bone  instruments  are  inserted  appears 
to  me  to  establish,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  the  stone  receptacle 
was  destined  to  receive  the  blood-offerings  of  the  high-priests  and 
rulers  who  performed  the  ear-sacrifice  represented,  in  carving,  on 
the  box  itself.  An  interesting  detail  is  that,  behind  the  seated 
figure,  the  form  of  a  serpent  is  distinguishable,  whose  tail  and 
head,  with  a  recurved  armlike  projection,  studded  with  star-sym¬ 
bols  are  like  those  of  the  twin  serpents  on  the  great  Calendar  Stone. 
The  symbols  of  fire,  carved  on  the  two  sides  of  the  box,  and  the 
star-symbols  accompanied  by  conventionalized  flowers,  which 
452 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


17 


figure  at  each  side  of  the  bone  instruments,  furnish  evidence 
that  the  rite  was  associated  with  the  god  of  fire  and  the  festival 
of  Flowers,  Xochilhuitl,  at  which  a  certain  form  of  star-wor¬ 
ship  took  place.  It  was  on  this  festival  that,  once  a  year,  certain 
loaves  of  bread,  named  Xonecuilli,  were  eaten.  The  shape 
of  these  loaves  resembled  that  of  the  constellation  Citlal-xone- 
cuilli,  Ursa  Major  or  Minor,  described  as  ‘  ‘  situated  in  the  trumpet 
of  the  North  and  composed  of  seven  stars,  which  formed  a  sepa¬ 
rate  group  and  are  resplendent”  (Sahagun,  book  vii,  chap. 
hi). 

The  low  square  hollow  stone  “seat"  preserved  at  the  Royal 
Ethnographical  Museum  at  Berlin  (Fig.  7)  is  of  particular  interest 


Fig.  7. 


in  connection  with  Sahagun ’s  statement,  cited  above,  that  the 
hall  in  which  the  priests  assembled  to  perform  the  penitential 
rites,  “contained  many  seats,”  .  .  .  This  object  was  obviously 
associated  with  such  rites,  because  its  front  is  carved  with  a  rep¬ 
resentation  of  the  familiar  grass  cushion  and  the  sacrificial  bone 
instruments.  Its  top  and  back  are  covered  by  the  figure  of  a 
large  scorpion  whose  tail  ends  in  a  tecpatl  or  flint-knife,  the 
native  symbol  for  the  North.  This  carved  scorpion,  before  which 
lie  the  woven  grass  ball  and  the  bone  instruments,  is  particularly 
significant  because  Sahagun  distinctly  states  that  the  Mexicans 

453 


18  PENITENTIAL  KITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

gave  the  name  of  “Citlal-colotl,”  =  Star-scorpion,  to  the 
northern  constellation,  Ursa  Major,  “because  it  resembled  the 
figure  of  a  scorpion’’  (op.  cit.  book  vii,  chap.iv).  The  exist¬ 
ence,  in  Mexico,  of  a  similar  hollow  stone  cube,  much  too  small 
to  have  been  used  as  a  seat,  but  which  exhibits,  on  its  sides, 
two  penitents  piercing  their  ears  and  on  its  top  a  shallow  cir¬ 
cular  receptacle,  throws  some  doubt  as  to  the  Berlin  Museum 
“seat”  having  really  been  intended  as  such. 

The  most  important  monument,  which  exhibits  proof  of 
having  been  associated  with  the  native  penitential  rite  and 
star-cult  is  the  great  statue  of  a  crouching  ocelot  or  native  tiger 
(PI.  I,  1,  2,  3),  which  was  discovered  in  December  1901  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  new  Palace  of  Justice  in  the  City  of  Mexico, 
by  Captain  Diaz,  the  son  of  the  President. 

This  imposing  monument  which  is  the  finest  piece  of  animal 
sculpture  that  has  as  yet  been  found  on  the  American  Conti¬ 
nent,  is  of  particular  interest,  on  account  of  its  form  and  the 
association  of  the  Mexican  god  Tezcatlipoca  not  only  with  the 
ocelot  but  also  with  the  constellation  Ursa  Major. 

According  to  the  well-known  myth,  Tezcatlipoca,  when 
cast  down  from  heaven  by  Quetzalcoatl,  “fell  into  the  water 
where  he  transformed  himself  into  an  ocelot”  and  arose  to  kill 
certain  giants.  During  the  period  of  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  years  Tezcatlipoca  “went  about  in  the  form  of  an  ocelot”  and 
all  “this  appears  in  the  sky  for  they  say  that,  the  constellation 
Ursa  Major  descends  to  the  water  because  it  is  Tezcatlipoca  and 
is  on  high  in  memory  of  him.”* 

While  the  foregoing  myth  suffices  to  show  that  the  great 
statue  of  an  ocelot  must  have  been  considered  as  an  image  of 
the  god  Tezcatlipoca.  the  fact  that,  his  insignia  are  worn  by 
the  two  personages  which  are  carved  in  bas-relief  on  the  bot- 


*Historia  de  los  Mexicanos  par  sus  pinturas,  Auales  del  Museo  Nae.ional,  vol.  n, 
p.  88.  The  Spanish  text  is  as  follows :  —  Quecjalcoatl  fue  sol  y  dexalo  de  ser  Tez¬ 
catlipoca  porque  le  dio  con  un  gran  baston  y  lo  derribo  en  el  agua  y  alii  se  hizo  tigre 
y  salio  a  matar  los  gigantes,  y  esto  paresce  en  el  cielo,  porque  dizen  que  la  Ursa  Ma¬ 
yor  se  abaxa  al  agua  porque  es  Tezcatlipoca  y  esta  alta  en  memoria  del . .  .  y  ansi 
andava  liecho  tigre  ...”  In  my  publication,  “The  Fundamental  Principles  of  Old  and 
Xew  World  Civilizations”  (vol.  2  of  the  Peabody  Museum  Papers),  by  some  unac- 
countable  mistake,  which  I  deplore,  the  name  Huitzilopochtli  was  substituted  for  that 
of  Quetzalcoatl  in  my  quotation, of  the  above  myth  on  page  8. 


454 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


19 


tom  of  the  deep  circular  receptacle  in  the  back  of  the  statue 
positively  proves  the  association  of  the  god  with  the  monument. 

The  relative  proportions  of  the  latter  and  of  the  stone  recep¬ 
tacle,  as  shown  in  Pl.  I,  1,  2,  3  reveal  that  this  was  an  accessory 
only.* 

The  bas-relief  carved  on  its  bottom  clearly  indicates  the  pur¬ 
pose  for  which  the  receptacle  was  destined  (Fig.  8). 

It  represents  two  seated  personages  in  the  act  of  piercing 


their  ears  with  bone  instruments.  In  front  of  each  is  an  object 
of  the  shape  of  an  isosceles  triangle,  into  which  four  agave  thorns 
are  inserted. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  penitent  carved  on  the  stone  box  (Fig\ 
6a)  both  individuals  are  minus  one  foot,  with  the  peculiarity 

*Itwas  strictly  in  accordance  with  native  usage  to  make  some  form  of  receptacle 
in  stone  idols,  for  the  reception  of  different  kinds  of  blood-offerings.  “The  Book  of 
the  Life  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans,”  for  instance,  describes  how  howls  of  human  blood 
were  poured  on  the  head  of  a  certain  idol  which  presumably  had,  like  a  native  stone 
image  in  my  possession,  a  bowl-like  hollow  on  its  head. 


455 


20 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


that  in  one  ease  the  right  foot  and  in  the  other  the  left  foot  is 
missing.  This  seemingly  insignificant  detail  assumes  a  certain 
importance  when  it  is  realized  that  it  recurs  in  the  two  fig¬ 
ures  sculptured  in  bas-relief  on  the  rocks  at  the  Penon  Viejo, 
situated  near  the  City  of  Mexico  (PL  n,  1,  2)  both  of  which 
likewise  display  the  same  insignia  as  the  two  personages  carved 
on  the  bottom  of  the  receptacle.  A  comparison  of  PI.  ii,  1 
with  the  carved  personage  to  the  right  in  Fig.  5,  reveals  a 
striking  identity,  for  in  both  cases  the  left  foot  is  missing,  the 
same  feather  head-dress,  with  Tezcatlipoca’s  hieroglyph  (the 
Smoking  Mirror)  at  its  side  and  a  recurved  ornament  above  the 
forehead,  is  worn  and  the  identical  nose-ornament  and  band  over 
the  face  is  displayed.  As  carved  on  the  rock  the  personage  thus 
arrayed,  like  the  similarly  one-footed  victors  on  the  Stone  of 
Tizoc,  is  erect,  armed  with  spears,  and  grasps  the  hair  of  a 
warrior  who  bends  before  him  and  lowers  the  bundle  of  spears 
held  in  the  left  hand,  his  right  hand  being  uplifted  and  holding 
the  atlatl  or  spear-thrower  in  the  position  for  throwing  the  spear. 

The  flate,  I  Tecpatl,  carved  beneath  this  group  corresponds 
to  A.  D.  1480  in  which  year,  according  to  the  Aubin  MS.  the 
Mexicans  conquered  the  people  of  Quauhnahuac  or  Cuernavaca, 
in  this  case  the  island  town  situated  in  the  lagoon  of  Xochi- 
milco  and  depicted  in  the  Map  by  Alonzo  de  Santa  Cruz  preserved 
at  the  University  of  Upsala,  Sweden.  The  reader  is  referred 
to  the  Chronicle  of  Tezozomoc  for  an  interesting  and  graphic 
account  of  the  warfare  waged  by  the  Mexicans  upon  the  Tec- 
panecans  and  inhabitants  of  Xochimilco,  etc.,  at  this  period, 
which  resulted  in  their  complete  subjugation. 

A  comparison  of  the  figure  to  the  left  in  Fig.  8,  with  PI.  n,  2, 
reveals  that,  in  both  cases  also,  the  right  foot  is  missing,  a  simi¬ 
lar  head-dress  with  Tezcatlipoca’s  glyph  is  worn  and  as  far  as 
can  be  distinguished  the  face  bands  are  alike. 

In  PI.  ii.  2,  the  individual  also  stands,  but  is  unarmed  and 
grasps  what  appears  to  be  a  tree,  in  blossom,  issuing  from  a 
circle  in  a  square — evidently  the  hieroglyph  of  a  locality.  The 
semi-effaced  date  carved  beneath  this  figure  which  incontestably 
belongs  to  the  same  period  as  PI.  ii,  1,  seems  to  be  the  year  III 
Tochtli  —  corresponding  to  1482,  a  date  two  years  later  than 
that  carved  on  PI.  ii,  2. 

456 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


21 


The  striking  identities  which  have  been  pointed  out  and 
especially  that  of  the  same  feet  being  missing,  appear  to  jus¬ 
tify  the  inference  that  the  two  individuals  carved  on  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  receptacle  in  the  ocelot’s  back  were  historical  person¬ 
ages,  represented  as  wearing  divine  insignia,  in  accordance  with 
established  custom.  The  peculiarity  that,  in  the  group,  both 
figures  display  both  rows  of  teeth  causes  it  to  appear  as  though 
they  wore  death-masks  under  their  face-bands  - —  a  fact  which 
is  explainable  since  one  of  Tezcatlipoca’s  titles  was  “Mictlan- 
tecuhtli,”  or  the  “Lord  of  the  North,”  the  Underworld,  and 
by  extension,  of  the  dead  who  go  there. 

The  indications  that  the  above  individuals  were  historical 
personages  not  only  accord  with  the  evidence  furnished  by  the 
commemorative  tablet  described  above  (Fig.  5)  but  suggest  the 
interesting  explanation  that  the  sculptured  ocelot  was  also  com¬ 
memorative  and  possibly  votive,  and  dates  from  after  the  year 
1482.  The  view  that  the  ocelot  was  an  actual  image  of  the  god 
Tezcatlipoca  and  that  the  ear-sacrifice  was  particularly  associa¬ 
ted  with  his  nocturnal  worship,  is  sustained  by  the  following 
significant  details. 

A  critical  examination  of  the  sculptured  ocelot  discloses 
that  the  large  side  whiskers  at  each  side  of  its  head  are  undoubt¬ 
edly  purely  conventional.  The  ocelot  does  not  possess  them 
in  reality  and  their  existence  could  not  have  been  suggested 
to  the  sculptor  by  a  study  of  the  animal  from  life.  Thus  far 
no  other  similar  representation  of  an  ocelot  with  side  whiskers, 
is  known  to  exist  in  Mexican  carving  or  painting  —  the  usual 
mode  of  figuring  the  sparse  bristly  hairs  on  the  upper  lip  of  the 
ocelot  being  more  true  to  life. 

Strange  to  say,  the  only  similar  instance  I  have  found,  of 
the  ocelot  with  conventionalized  whiskers,  is  that  carved  on  a 
slab  discovered  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  at  Chichen  Itza,  Yucatan.* 

While  this  remarkable  coincidence,  which  is  in  keeping 
with  other  analogies  between  Chichen  Itza  and  Mexican  art, 
furnishes  fresh  food  for  reflection,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  other  sculptured  representations  of  the  ocelot  also  exist 
at  Chichen  Itza  and  do  not  exhibit  the  conventional  feature. 

•An  illustration  of  this  slab  was  first  published  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  opposite  to  p. 
85  in  “The  Sacred  Mysteries  of  the  Mayas.”  New  York,  1886. 


457 


22  PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 

What  is  more:  The  only  native  American  beast  of  prey  which 
possesses  a  similar  hairy  fringe  is  the  wild  cat,  the  lynx  or  Felts 
rufus ,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  brilliant  eyes  and  habit  of 
prowling  about  at  night. 

Whilst  the  possibility  naturally  suggests  itself  that  the 
native  sculptor  might  have  purposely  combined  the  features 
of  both  beasts  of  prey  in  order  to  add  to  the  impressiveness  of 
his  statue,  the  indications  are  that  his  aim  was  not  to  produce 
a  naturalistic  image  but  an  imposing  idol  of  Tezcatlipoca  under 
the  form  the  god  had  according  to  the  myth  assumed  and  borne 
for  ‘  ‘  six  hundred  and  sixty  six  years.  ’  ’ 

A  side  light  is  thrown  upon  the  symbolism  of  the  hirsute 
appendages  and  the  reason  for  their  presence  by  one  of  the  bas- 
reliefs  carved  on  the  remarkable  stone  box*  which  belonged  to 
the  late  Senor  Islas  de  Bustamante,  the  photographs  of  which 
are  published  here,  for  the  first  time  (Plates  hi,  iv  and  v). 

The  bas-relief  (PI.  hi,  2),  exhibits  a  seated  personage  with 
crossed  and  sandalled  feet,  in  the  act  of  piercing  his  ear  with 
the  usual  bone  instrument.  To  his  right  lies  a  smoking  incense- 
burner  whose  handle  terminates  in  a  serpent’s  head.  To  his 
left,  standing  upright,  is  the  same  pointed  object  which  figures 
in  the  bas-relief  on  the  bottom  of  the  receptacle  in  the  back  of 
the  ocelot.  It  is  noticeable  that  this  object  is  of  the  same  form 
and  exhibits  the  same  markings,  resembling  a  woven  pattern, 
that  recur  on  the  four  agave  points  stuck  into  it.  This  circum¬ 
stance  and  the  incisions  at  its  base  and  side  appear  to  indicate 
that  it  was  the  thick  fleshy  top  of  an  agave  leaf  such  as  Sahagun 
describes  as  having  been  used  by  the  priesthood  as  cushions 
for  the  thorns  employed  in  performing  their  penance. 

The  most  important  and  interesting  features  in  connection 
with  the  seated  figure  are  that  lie  not  only  displays  a  peculiarly 
shaped  beard,  resembling  the  hairy  appendages  of  the  ocelot 
statue,  but  is  also  associated  with  the  ocelot  itself.  At  the 
back  of  his  head,  above  his  left  hand,  the  head  of  an  ocelot  is 
visible,  whose  skin  hangs  behind  his  back,  the  tail  ending  below 
his  knee.  Besides  this  the  personage  wears  leggings  made  of 
the  spotted  ocelot  skin  and  a  rattlesnake  girdle  from  which 
hang  two  conventionalized  hearts. 

*  Dimensions:  34  X  52  centimetres,  interior  depth  lGcentimetres,  exterior  height  20 
centimetres. 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS.  23 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  in  a  note  written  beneath  its 
photograph  the  late  Sehor  Islas  de  Bustamante,  independently 
identified  the  above  figure  as  a  representation  of  ‘  ‘  Ocelotl- 
Tezcatlipoca,  ’  ’  or  Tlatoca-ocelot,  lit.  the  Lord  Ocelot  (a  title 
which  is  also  recorded  by  Serna  in  chap,  ix)  and  described  as 
wearing  "the  beard  of  the  mask  of  Tezcatlipoca. ’ ’  Pointing- 
out  that  in  the  above  figure,  as  in  the  ocelot  statue,  there  is 
a  combination  of  the  ocelot,  the  beard  and  the  ear-sacrifice, 
I  will  briefly  review  the  sculptured  figures  on  the  other  three 
sides  and  on  the  interior  and  exterior  base  of  fhe  stone  box 
under  discussion. 

Plate  hi,  1,  exhibits  a  seated  personage  in  the  same  attitude 
and  with  the  same  accessories  as  in  Fig.  6  ,  but  displaying  the 
same  head-dress  with  Tezcatlipoca ’s  glyph,  and  the  same  face 
markings  as  those  of  the  left  figure  of  the  group  in  the  ocelot 
receptacle  (Fig.  8).  A  noticeable  difference  is  that,  in  one  case 
the  right  and  in  the  other  the  left  foot  is  missing. 

A  third  seated  and  one-footed  personage  also  exhibiting 
Tezcatlipoca ’s  insignia,  is  carved  on  the  side  of  the  stone  box 
(PI.  v,  1)  which  has  unfortunately  been  mutilated,  a  hole  hav¬ 
ing  been  bored  through  it  and  a  lead  pipe  inserted  by  a  prev¬ 
ious  owner,  in  order  to  employ  the  box  as  a  water  fountain. 
The  symbols  carved  on  the  fourth  side  of  the  box  (PI.  iv,  1) 
closely  resemble  those  on  the  stone  box  of  the  National  Museum 
(Fig.  6). 

The  grass  ball  which  figures  in  both  of  these  recurs  on  the 
bottom  of  the  stone  box  under  discussion  (PI.  iv,  2),  while  a 
remarkable  and  unidentified  monster,  covered  with  spines,  and 
figured  as  on  water,  covers  the  exterior  of  its  base  (PI.  v,  2). 

A  resume  of  the  foregoing  archaeological  material  brings 
out  the  interesting  fact  that  there  are  known  to  exist  no  less 
than  ten  sculptured  representations  of  individuals  perform¬ 
ing  ear  sacrifice. 

In  the  case  of  the  commemorative  slab  the  personages  are 
unquestionably  historical  and  the  performance  of  the  rite  asso¬ 
ciated  with  the  dedication  of  the  Great  Temple  of  Mexico.  The 
two  one-footed  personages  carved  on  the  bottom  of  the  recep¬ 
tacle  of  the  ocelot  statue  appear  to  be  identical  with  the  con- 


459 


24 


PENITENTIAL  KITE  OP  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


querors  carved  on  the  rocks  at  the  Penon  with  the  dates  I 
Tecpatl  and  III  Tochtli  (A.D.  14S0  and  1482). 

These  conquerors,  like  the  sixteen  carved  on  the  so-called 
“Stone  of  Tizoc,”  the  penitents  carved  on  the  bottom  of  the 
ocelot  receptacle  and  those  on  the  exterior  of  two  of  the  stone 
boxes  described,  making  a  total  of  2+16  +  2+1-1-3  =  24 
individuals,  are,  with  only  one  exception,  one-footed,  while  all 
exhibit  the  insignia  of  the  god  Tezcatlipoca.  This  overwhelm¬ 
ing  evidence,  by  the  way,  amply  substantiates  my  identification 
of  the  one-footed  god  depicted  in  the  Codices  as  Tezcatlipoca.* 
The  sixteen  one-footed  warriors  on  the  “Stone  of  Tizoc”  and 
those  on  the  Penon  rocks  —  all  of  which  may,  possibly,  repre¬ 
sent  one  and  the  same  person  —  either  prove  that  a  native 
conqueror  existed  who  was  actually  one-footed  and  had  adopted 
the  insignia  of  Tezcatlipoca,  or  that  it  was  customary,  in  repre¬ 
senting  living  personifications  of  the  god,  to  emphasize  one  of 
his  symbols,  the  lame  foot,  even  if  the  mutilation  did  not  exist 
in  reality. 

I  am  indebted  to  Father  Hunt  Cortes  for  the  interesting 
fact  which  he  has  also  published,  that  after  having  been  tor¬ 
tured  by  the  Spaniards,  the  unfortunate  Quauhtemoc  the  last 
of  Mexican  rulers,  was  named  Xonecuiltzin  =  the  lame  lord; 
a  title  or  nickname  which  may  well  have  previously  been  be¬ 
stowed  on  other  personages  equally  lame. 

To  Don  Mariano  Rojas,  the  oldest  inhabitant  of  the  town 
of  Tepoztlan  (Morelia)  in  which  the  Nahuatl  language  is  not 
only  spoken,  but  cultivated  I  am  indebted  for  the  interesting 
personal  communication  that  one  of  his  earliest  recollections 
is  that  of  his  old  grandfather  pointing  out  to  him  the  seven  stars 
of  the  constellation  of  Ursa  Major  and  telling  him  that  its  name 
was  Xonecuilli. 

This  valuable  testimony  in  conjunction  with  Sahagun’s 
statement  that  “the  stars  which  are  in  the  mouth  of  the  trum¬ 
pet  of  the  North  were  named  citlal-xonecuilli  and  that  the 

*See  Fundamental  Principles  of  Old  and  New  World  Civilizations,  p.  10,  etc.  Dr. 
Theodor  Preuss  has  criticised  this  identification  of  mine,  stating  his  opinion  that  in 
a  certain  case,  the  god  appeared  to  he  “Tlauizpantecuhtli.”  I  merely  point  out  here 
that  tlie  latter  name  is  a  title  only:  “the  lord  of  the  dawn”  and  that,  in  several  pub- 
lications,  Professor  Seler  has  observed  that  “Tlauizpantecuhtli  not  only  wears  the 
same  insignia  as  Tezcatlipoca  but  may  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  this  god.” 

4G0 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


25 


natives  figured  its  seven  stars  in  a  group  of  the  shape  of  an  S, 
definitely  associates  the  name  Xonecuilli  with  one  or  both  of  the 
Ursa  constellations,*  and  with  Tezcatlipoca  who  is  found  fig¬ 
ured  in  painting  and  sculpture  as  a  Xonecuiltzin  or  “lame 
lord.” 

While  the  bas-relief  figures  described  definitely  connect 
one-footedness  with  Tezcatlipoca,  they  also  prove  the  asso¬ 
ciation  of  the  ocelot  with  this  god.  The  representation  of  the 
ear-sacrifice  on  the  exterior  of  three  and  interior  of  one  in  the 
stone  receptacles  clearly  indicates,  moreover,  the  purpose  for 
which  the  latter  were  destined;  namely  to  contain  the  blood¬ 
stained  thorns,  sticks  or  papers,  which  constituted  the  sacred 
offerings,  or  their  ashes. f 

In  conclusion:  The  main  result  of  the  foregoing  investiga- 

*Rejecting  Saliagun’s  testimony  in  this  case  and  stating  that  the  friar  “could  not 
have  meant  what  he  wrote,”  Professor  Seler  prefers  to  adopt  the  statement  on  the 
subject  made  by  Don  Hernando  Alvarado  Tezozomoc  who  is  supposed  to  have  been 
born  in  1520  and  to  have  written  his  work  at  the  age  of  78. 

In  Tezozomoc’s  description  of  the  ceremonies  held  in  honor  of  the  inauguration  of 
Montezuma  II  as  ruler  of  Mexico,  he  gives  a  lAsumfi  of  the  exhortation  addressed  to 
the  new  ruler  by  the  twelve  electors.  In  this  Montezuma  is  enjoined  particularly  to 
yield  homage,  at  the  break  of  day,  to  “the  star  Xonecuilli,  which  is  the  cross  of  St. 
Jacob,  which  is  in  the  region  of  the  South,  in  the  direction  of  the  Indies  and  the 
Chinas.”—  (Cronica  Mexicana,  p.  574.) 

I  cannot  but  think  that  Professor  Seler  and  his  follower  Dr.  Preuss  will  find  it 
difficult  to  persuade  American  scholars  to  accept  as  authentic  the  Mexican  priest’s 
allusion  to  “the  direction  of  the  Indies  and  Chinas;”  to  interpret  this  direction  as 
that  occupied  by  a  Southern  constellation;  and  to  prefer  Tezozomoc's  evidence  so 
clearly  tinged  with  European  influence,  to  that  preserved  in  the  notes  written  by 
Friar  Sahagun  under  the  dictation  of  the  aged  and  most  learned  of  native  chieftains 
whom  he  gathered  around  him  in  Texcoco  and  questioned  about  their  ancient  beliefs, 
etc. 

fin  a  recent  publication,  the  Spanish  translation  of  which  was  published  in  the 
Anales  del  Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico  (tomo  vn,  p.  260),  Prof.  Edward  Seler,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  carved  feather-frieze  on  the  interior  wall  of  the  receptacle  in  the  Ocelot 
statue’s  back,  pronounces  ex  cathedra ,  thatthis  monument  is  a  “Quauhxicalli”  or  vase 
destined  to  hold  the  hearts  of  human  victims.  In  making  this  identification  Pro¬ 
fessor  Seler  entirely  overlooks  what  appears  to  be  so  obvious  a  fact,  namely  that  the 
scene  carefully  depicted  on  the  bottom  of  the  receptacle  furnishes  more  important 
testimony  as  to  the  object  for  which  it  served  than  the  decorative  feather  frieze,  which 
is  a  mere  accessory.  It  stands  to  reason  that  a  “vase  of  the  eagles  destined  to  receive 
the  hearts  and  blood  of  human  victims,”  would  be  more  likely  to  exhibit  carved  rep¬ 
resentations  of  eagles,  human  hearts  and  human  sacrifices,  than  the  images  of  two 
persons  in  the  act  of  drawing  blood  from  their  ears. 

What  is  more :  in  treating  of  this  native  statue  ofan  ocelot  Professor  Seler  ignored 
the  relation  of  this  animal  to  Tezcatlipoca,  just  as  he  passed  over  in  silence  not  only 
the  existence  but  the  prevalence  of  the  rite  of  ear-sacrifice  in  his  discussion  of  its 
performance  by  the  two  sculptured  personages  whom  lie  identifies  as  “gods”  or 
“Tezcatlipoca  under  two  forms.” 


461 


26 


PENITENTIAL  RITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MEXICANS. 


tion  is  a  recognition  of  the  hitherto  disregarded  fact  that  the 
rite  of  voluntarily  drawing  blood,  principally  from  the  ear,  was 
a  feature  of  every-day  life  in  Ancient  Mexico  which  was  per¬ 
formed  by  young  and  old.  It  is  but  just  to  recognize  what 
a  meritorious  deed  the  Spanish  Conquerors  performed  when 
they  summarily  abolished  so  barbarous  a  practice,  which,  of 
itself,  sufficed  to  fill  them  with  disgust  for  the  native  ritual. 

The  other  results  obtained  are  the  certainty  that  the  three 
stone  boxes  described  and  possibly  the  “seat”  in  the  Berlin 
Museum,  as  well  as  the  receptacle  in  the  back  of  the  ocelot  statue, 
were  destined  to  hold  ear-blood  offerings  made  to  Tezcatlipoca; 
that  the  ocelot-statue  was  an  image  of  this  god  under  the  form 
he  had  mythically  assumed  for  666  years;  that  a  close  chain 
of  evidence  connects  Tezcatlipoca  with  the  circumpolar  con¬ 
stellations  and  establishes  his  identity  as  the  one-footed  or  lame 
star-gocl  of  the  Codices,  the  personification  of  Xonecuilli  or  of 
Ursa  Major,  who,  like  pole-star  gods  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
was  conceived  by  the  Mexicans  as  fastened  by  one  foot  to  the 
pole  and  performing  a  perpetual  circuit  around  it  by  means  of 
the  foot  which  remained  free. 

462 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  No.  7,  Pl.  I. 


Fig.1. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


Fig.  1.  Fig. 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Yol.  I.  Mo.  7,  Pl.  III. 


Fro.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  I,  No.  7,  Pi..  IV 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Peabody  Museum  Papers. 


Vol.  1,  NO.  7,  PL.  V. 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


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